Shafaq News / The Iraqi Ministry of Defense responded today, Monday, to the leader of the National Coalition, Iyad Allawi, statements in a televised interview and accused him of attempting to undermine the role of the minister.

"Iyad Allawi, in his talk on a TV program broadcasted on Saturday, July 19, 2020, tried to downsize the role of the Minister of Defense and make him look weak", the ministry said in a statement to Shafaq News agency.

The statement asserted, "This certainly does not apply to the Minister of Defense".

The ministry explained, "The plans are presented to the Minister of Defense for discussion. The decisions are taken in a manner that secures the success of the operations", indicating that, "plans are developed by the command of joint operations and discussed with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff of the Army by the Deputy Commander of Joint Operations before submitting them to the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces to obtain his approval".

The statement of the Ministry of Defense stated, "according to the established contexts in the Ministry of Defense, the movement of sectors, officers and ranks take place after obtaining the approval of the Minister of Defense exclusively and according to authority".

Iyad Allawi claimed in his televised statement to countries and groups that control the Ministry of Defense and that the minister is prohibited from attending national security meetings.