On Thursday, Vice President Nuri al-Maliki said—during his visit to the province of Basra—that the acute decline in oil prices did not happen automatically, and that Russia and Iran are targeted foremost, and Iraq is affected incidentally.

Maliki in an interview for a number of journalists, including the reporter of IraqiNews.com, during his visit to the presidency of Basra University, accompanied by a number of members of the House of Representatives and the provincial council, said, “The economic war on countries may be more damaging and influential on humanity than conventional wars. The drop in oil prices is not a normal economic situation, it is a political process aimed at destroying the economies of specific countries,” noting that, “Russia and Iran are the first of those countries, and Iraq is affected incidentally. “

The Vice President of the Republic noted that “The economic war against these countries is complementary to the role of terrorism that kills innocent people,” adding that, “Economic wars are devastating the structure of the targeted countries and result in starvation of their people.”