Iraq denies report claiming foreign minister delivered message from Trump to Iran

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday rejected what it called false claims that Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein delivered a message from former U.S. President Donald Trump to Iranian officials.

The ministry said it had reviewed a report published on a website and circulated by some media outlets under the headline: “Trump gives Iran two weeks to withdraw its militias from Iraq.”

“The report claimed that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein conveyed a message from U.S. President Donald Trump to the Iranian leadership regarding the subjects mentioned in the report’s headline,” the ministry said in a statement.

It described the claim as baseless and “not based on any official source,” accusing the report’s authors of engaging in “unprofessional media practice aimed at spreading false and misleading information and negatively influencing public opinion through a systematic attempt to distort Iraq’s image.”

The ministry emphasized that all reliable information related to Iraq’s foreign policy is communicated through official channels.

“Official statements and press releases issued by the Iraqi government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are the only reliable sources for any information related to Iraq’s foreign policy, based on the principles of transparency and respect for international law,” the statement read.

The denial came as U.S. and Iranian officials concluded a fifth round of indirect nuclear negotiations in Rome on Friday.