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In a statement issued on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran called the US withdrawal a vital step toward consolidating Iraq’s national sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.

It said the 23-year tragedy of the US and allied military presence began with Washington’s aggression against Iraq on March 20, 2003, launched under the false pretext of eliminating “weapons of mass destruction.”

The statement recalled the irreparable consequences of that occupation for Iraq and the wider region, such as the killing of more than one million Iraqis, including tens of thousands of innocent women and children; material damage amounting to several hundred billion dollars to Iraq’s civilian, security and governmental infrastructure; environmental destruction; and heinous war crimes, including the torture of Iraqi men and women at Abu Ghraib prison.

It also said the occupation laid the groundwork for Takfiri terrorism and the rise of Daesh in Iraq and neighboring countries.