Iran slams U.S.-Iraqi SOFA

TEHRAN, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the Iraqi government to avoid succumbing to U.S. demands for a security deal with Washington.

The Iranian president described the United States as "intoxicated" with power when it led the invasion of Iraq in 2003 but noted the country was "on the road to decline," Iranian Press TV reported Wednesday.

"It is the duty of the Iraqi people and government to persevere in the face of the occupiers' unwarranted demands, as resistance and perseverance brings unity and glory to a country," the president said.

His statements came during a visit to Tehran by Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Mashhadani, who also met with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Larijani.

For his part, Larijani said the deal set to replace the U.N. mandate for Iraq would have "unsavory ramifications" on the geopolitical dynamics of the region.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte was in Baghdad on an unannounced visit to broker a deal on remaining issues concerning the security pact.

Several Iraqi lawmakers voiced their concern over the deal, with Sadrist lawmaker Aql Abdul Hussein saying the measure did little to protect Iraqi sovereignty, while Abdul Aziz al-Hakim with the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council said it did not do enough to remove Iraq from U.N. provisions.

The U.N. Chapter VII mandate for Iraq expires at the end of December.