Grand Ayatollah Bashir al-Najafi receives EU’s Ambassador to Iraq at his residence in Holy Najaf

His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Bashir Al-Najafi received the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Iraq, Thomas Seiler, and his accompanying delegation, in the context of deepening Iraqi-European relations and supporting Iraq.

The office of Grand Ayatollah al-Najafi said in a statement, seen by Shia News Agency, that “His Eminence received in his office in the holy city of Najaf, the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Iraq, Thomas Seiler, and his accompanying delegation.”

The statement mentioned that His Eminence “sent a message to the European Union emphasizing the importance of respecting Iraq’s sovereignty and its independent and legal decisions,” stressing the importance of “Iraq’s sovereignty and preserving its national identity away from any external interference.”

It further explained that Grand Ayatollah al-Najafi welcomed “any support that would enhance Iraqi-European relations based on contributing to Iraq economically and scientifically, especially after Europe had supportive positions towards Iraq against the dictatorships during the rule of the previous regime and the terrorism that Iraq faced after 2003.”

The statement added that his Eminence expressed “his great pain and sorrow for the global silence and the halt of any action that could deter the bloodshed affecting the Palestinian people who are suffering from a genocidal war targeting children and women”.

It concluded that the Grand Shia Authority called on “the European Union countries to fulfill their real responsibilities to immediately stop the war, prevent bloodshed and displacement of the Palestinian people, disregarding the feelings of millions of Muslims and humanity as a whole”.