U.S. call for Israeli sovereignty on Golan "contravenes international law" - Iraqi foreign ministry tweet

U.S. President Donald Trump exits Air Force One as he arrives to tour the Lima Army Tank Plant (LATP) Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio, U.S., March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's statement recognising Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights "contravenes international law," the Iraqi foreign ministry said on Twitter on Saturday.

Trump's statement on Thursday marked a dramatic shift in U.S. policy over the status of a disputed area that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East conflict and annexed in 1981 - a move not recognized internationally.

(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli, editing by Louise Heavens)