TEHRAN - Government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Monday that from national security point of view, it is not advisable to keep silent towards the United States’ malicious acts and statements against Iran.

“Iran has not given a proper response yet. In my opinion, what happened in Iraq’s parliament yesterday was a proper response to the United States. From the national security point of view, we do not consider it appropriate to keep silent towards the United States,” he said on the sidelines of the funeral procession for Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

Soleimani was assassinated in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad on Friday.

In an extraordinary session on Sunday, the Iraqi parliament voted for a resolution requiring the government to order the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

“There is no need for the presence of American forces after defeating Daesh,” said Ammar al-Shibli, a lawmaker and member of the parliamentary legal committee.

“We have our own armed forces which are capable of protecting the country,” he said, Reuters reported.

Around 5,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, most of them in an advisory capacity.

NA/PA