The president of Iraq hailed the late Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani as an "icon" and instrumental in the country ridding itself of ISIS terrorism.
"Qassem Soleimani was quite an icon for Iran and Iranian national security system," Iraqi President Barham Salih told CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "I want to be fair as we evaluate these matters."
Salih's statement came in response to Zakaria asking whether Soleimani was a hero or a terrorist.
"I have referred to this on many occasions," Salih continued. "Qassem Soleimani was there during the war against ISIS. He was with Iraqi forces, different Iraqi forces, in different regions of Iraq and ironically at the time when you have American drones and American planes providing support missions for some of these military dynamics."
While Iraq does want to reclaim its sovereignty and rid itself of Iranian influence, Soleimani did help the world root out ISIS, Salih said.
"So, during the war with ISIS, many competing elements in the Middle East, many conflicting parties in the Middle East, came together in Iraq in order to defeat ISIS," Salih said.
"This is a dangerous moment," he added later. "The Middle East does not need another conflict."
