Saturday, November 25, 2006
Talabani delays Iran visit
Politics, Region, Security
President Jalal Talabani said on Friday he has postponed a scheduled trip to Iran until Baghdad's airport is reopened. He had been due to leave for Tehran on Saturday to meet his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to discuss the situation in Iraq. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the country's top officials, Talabani said he would fly as soon as the airport opens. The government closed the airport until further notice on Thursday night after several explosions killed and wounded hundreds of people in Baghdad's eastern neighbourhood of Sadr City.
The bombings set off tit-for-tat Shiite reprisals in Baghdad with militiamen targeting Sunni mosques in which security sources said many were feared killed. President Bashar Assad of Syria was supposed to join Talabani and their Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this weekend but reports from Tehran said Syria appears to be staying away from the summit. "The Tehran visit is still on but the airport is closed. As soon as the airport opens we will leave to Tehran," Talabani said. "The airport will be closed tomorrow but if it opens after tomorrow we will go," the president said.
COMMENT: Talabani is stalling. If he really wanted to, despite security concerns, he could fly to Iran. Possibly the delay is in order to wait for the outcome on the Syrian talks. COMMENT ENDS.
