Iran's parliament speaker says US will be defeated in economic war

TEHRAN, Iran — TEHRAN — Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament, said the United States will be defeated in the economic sphere just as it has been in military and political arenas, during a meeting in Tehran on Monday with Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council head Faiq Zidan. Ghalibaf said a new regional order is taking shape and that the current conditions carry a sensitive and historic character for both Iran and Iraq. The Iranian official described the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq as a "historic achievement" of the Iraqi government and people, expressing hope that the pullout would be completed across the country. He did not provide a timeline for the remaining withdrawals. Ghalibaf made similar remarks during a visit to Baghdad last week, saying bilateral relations are moving toward a new regional order free of outside interference. He also stressed that the Iraqi resistance remains one of the country's sources of strength, without elaborating on which groups he was referring to.