Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Iranian diplomats held in U.S. raid on SCIRI leader's compound
Iran, Politics
Iraq’s president protested on Monday against the arrest by US forces in Iraq of two Iranian diplomats who US officials said were seized in raids against Iranians suspected of planning attacks on Iraqi security forces. Iran said the diplomats had been invited by the Iraqi government and warned their detention would “provoke unpleasant repercussions”, a local Iraqi news agency said.
“Two Iranian diplomats were detained by the Americans,” said Hiwa Othman, media adviser for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. “The president is unhappy. He is talking to the Americans about it as we speak. The diplomats came to Iraq at the invitation of the president,” Othman told Reuters. He said he was not aware if they had met Talabani. Talabani, a Kurd, travelled to Iran last month in the latest of a series of high-level contacts between the two neighbours. Washington accuses Shia Iran of backing Shia militias who are blamed for fuelling rampant sectarian violence in Iraq.
The US State Department said “a small number” of Iranian diplomats were among those initially detained in the raids, but that they were turned over to Iraqi authorities and released. Several other Iranians remained in custody, it said. “Our actions (to release the diplomats) were in no way dictated by pressure from the Iraqi government or any party in the government,” it said in a statement. “Our actions were instead in accordance with our international legal obligations.”
“We suspect this event validates our claim about Iranian meddling,” said a White House spokesman. The New York Times on Sunday said the US military was holding at least four Iranians in Iraq, including senior military officials, who were seized in two raids last week. Othman and an official in the Shia-dominated government said they were not aware the diplomats had been freed.
“We are only aware of the arrest of the two diplomats. I don’t think that there are any military officials,” the Shia official from the powerful Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) party told Reuters. In Tehran, the ISNA student news agency said the Foreign Ministry had summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran to discuss the arrests. The Swiss embassy represents US interests in Iran since diplomatic relations between Tehran and Washington were cut after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
A US military spokesman in Baghdad declined to comment and referred all questions to the Pentagon. There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon. It was unclear what kind of evidence American officials possessed that the Iranians were planning attacks, and the officials would not identify those being held, the Times said. One official said that “a lot of material” was seized in the raid but would not say if it included arms or documents that pointed to planning for attacks, the paper reported.
The Times said that one of the raids took place in the Baghdad compound of SCIRI head Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, one of Iraq’s most powerful Shia leaders, who travelled to Washington three weeks ago to meet President George W. Bush. Iraqi and US officials have long accused Iran of interfering in Iraq’s affairs.
“Two Iranian diplomats were detained by the Americans,” said Hiwa Othman, media adviser for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. “The president is unhappy. He is talking to the Americans about it as we speak. The diplomats came to Iraq at the invitation of the president,” Othman told Reuters. He said he was not aware if they had met Talabani. Talabani, a Kurd, travelled to Iran last month in the latest of a series of high-level contacts between the two neighbours. Washington accuses Shia Iran of backing Shia militias who are blamed for fuelling rampant sectarian violence in Iraq.
The US State Department said “a small number” of Iranian diplomats were among those initially detained in the raids, but that they were turned over to Iraqi authorities and released. Several other Iranians remained in custody, it said. “Our actions (to release the diplomats) were in no way dictated by pressure from the Iraqi government or any party in the government,” it said in a statement. “Our actions were instead in accordance with our international legal obligations.”
“We suspect this event validates our claim about Iranian meddling,” said a White House spokesman. The New York Times on Sunday said the US military was holding at least four Iranians in Iraq, including senior military officials, who were seized in two raids last week. Othman and an official in the Shia-dominated government said they were not aware the diplomats had been freed.
“We are only aware of the arrest of the two diplomats. I don’t think that there are any military officials,” the Shia official from the powerful Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) party told Reuters. In Tehran, the ISNA student news agency said the Foreign Ministry had summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran to discuss the arrests. The Swiss embassy represents US interests in Iran since diplomatic relations between Tehran and Washington were cut after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
A US military spokesman in Baghdad declined to comment and referred all questions to the Pentagon. There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon. It was unclear what kind of evidence American officials possessed that the Iranians were planning attacks, and the officials would not identify those being held, the Times said. One official said that “a lot of material” was seized in the raid but would not say if it included arms or documents that pointed to planning for attacks, the paper reported.
The Times said that one of the raids took place in the Baghdad compound of SCIRI head Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, one of Iraq’s most powerful Shia leaders, who travelled to Washington three weeks ago to meet President George W. Bush. Iraqi and US officials have long accused Iran of interfering in Iraq’s affairs.
