"We do not want our territory to be a staging post for any hostile action against any of our neighbors, including Iran," Salih told CNN.

Earlier in an interview with CBS, US president Donald Trump said one reason behind US presence in Iraq is monitoring and controlling Iran.

In response to a question whether US sanctions could change Iran behavior in the region, he said "We in Iraq have suffered from sanctions in the 1990s, and the devastation that has afflicted Iraqi society has been really enduring, even to date."

Comparing US current threats against Iran with those before Iraq imposed war on Iran, Salih said that Saddam Hussein was "a unique case in history, adding: "But the parallel is as follows: It's easy to start a war, but very, very difficult to end a war."

Meanwhile earlier, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi said on Tuesday that the US has waged full-scale economic war on Iran.

He added: "The US has put all the pressure it can on Iran to tighten the screw on the Iranian people and definitely it amounted to a war crime in the International Law."

On the possibility of US attack on Iran in the wake of shooting its drone down by Iran, he said "I think the whole region will be driven to a total mess definitely Iran will not accept any attack on its territory."

"Definitely we will respond to any military attack against our country," he reiterated.

Reporter’s code: 50101