The Government of Iraq today steadfastly denied that it has signed any contracts to buy military weapons, ammunition or other military equipment from Iran, as alleged in some recent news reports. In a statement, Iraq’s Ministry of Defense explained that numerous international firms, including Iran’s Defense Industries Organization, recently submitted offers to provide Iraq with military hardware, but the proposal from Iran was rejected.
An unofficial translation of the full statement by the Ministry of Defense is below.
Baghdad, Iraq --- Some media outlets have alleged the signing of arms and military equipment deals between Iraq and Iran, and there are those who have taken advantage of this politically and in the media. We would like to make the following clarification:
Based on the need of our armed forces for some ammunition for light weapons and night vision equipment to fill the shortage of some of our military units, offers were submitted from several international firms, in various countries including Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, China, Ukraine and Pakistan, in addition to the Iranian Defense Industries Organization, which submitted their bids and delivery schedules. However, preference was given to other companies and no contract was signed with the Iranian company.
Link to Arabic-version statement included here: http://www.mod.mil.iq/news/2014/2/25/60.html.