Al-Hakeem brother in Iraqi opposition meeting under US support

The delegation representing the opposition Iraqi group, the Higher Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, headquartered in Iran, left Tehran on Wednesday heading for Washington in order to attend a meeting for 6 members of the main Iraqi opposition forces with the American administration on Friday.

According to the statement issued by this Shiite group, Abdul Aziz al-Hakeem, the younger son of Ayatullah Muhammad Baqer al- Hakeem, the chairman of the higher council presided over the delegation which included in its membership Ibrahim Hammoudi, the political advisor for Ayatullah and Hamid al-Bayyati, the representative of the higher council in London.

In a pre-departure statement al-Hakeem said that his group underlines the importance and the need of the unity of the Iraqi opposition concerning political vision and stances. He added that the effective field presence inside the Iraqi territories is the best option. He stressed the need of the opposition's total independence in taking the decision, Iraq's unity and territorial integrity, and the need of lifting the sanctions imposed on the Iraqi.

He also stressed his group's persistence that the alternative for the ruling regime in Iraq is for a president to be elected by the Iraqi people themselves, the future regime to be multilateral, and the change process to be made at the hands of the Iraqi people.