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Maliki reportedly says he wants U.S. out

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Tehran, Iran on Oct.18, 2010. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Tehran, Iran on Oct.18, 2010. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian | License Photo

BAGHDAD, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Tuesday U.S. troops will leave by December and there will be no permanent U.S. bases in Iraq.

The report came from Press TV, an English-language broadcaster with headquarters in Iran.

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On Monday, an Iranian member of Parliament, Kazem Jalali, accused the United States of falsely saying Iran is involved in supporting terrorism in Iraq, the Iranian Mehr News Agency reported. Jalali said the U.S. government is looking for excuses to keep its troops in Iraq.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said this month he believed the Iraqi government had given its consent to keeping some U.S. troops in the country after Dec. 31. The Iraqi government said it had not yet made a final decision.

Many officials in Iraq's Shiite-dominated government has close ties to Iran. Maliki, who lived in exile from 1979 to 1990, spent most of that time in Tehran.

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