IRAN & IRAQ: GETTING CHUMMIER & CHUMMIER

Iran and Iraq to strengthen security and intelligence ties

BAGHDAD - Iraq and Iran have formed a working group to build closer security and intelligence ties, the Iraqi government announced Sunday, despite US concerns over Teheran’s role in the country.

Iraqi National Security Advisor Muwaffaq Al Rubaie and his Iranian counterpart Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, minister of security and intelligence, recently discussed putting into effect a prior deal to share intelligence.

“The two sides agreed to form a working group to lay down suitable mechanisms to implement the agreement to strengthen security and intelligence cooperation,” said a statement issued by the Iraqi cabinet.

The United States, which maintains 142,000 troops in Iraq, has expressed concern over what it describes as Iran’s role in fuelling the deadly violence sweeping Iraq and has accused Teheran of smuggling weapons to Iraqi militias.

“Two countries are particularly playing a negative role: the Iranian and Syrian regimes,” said US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad on Thursday.

“These regimes are supporting groups who are killing Iraqis. Their objective is to use Iraqis as cannon fodder in their plan to keep Iraqis divided and Iraq weak,” he said.

Rubaie declined to discuss the agreement or Iran’s role in the country, telling AFP: “I do not wish to comment on these issues.”

In a July interview with CNN, however, the Iraqi national security advisor denied that Iran had a hand in the violence, but he acknowledged: “They have a political influence. They have media activity. They have even sometimes a security and intelligence activity inside Iraq.”

He also denied that Iran was supplying militants with special armor-piercing explosives technology, even though US and British officers maintain that the devices can be traced specifically to Iran.

The US embassy in Iraq did not have a specific comment on the move towards closer intelligence and security relations between the two countries, but continued to express concern about Iranian activities.

“We have always maintained that Iraq should have normal relations with all its neighbors,” said embassy spokesman Lou Fintor. “We have long made clear our concerns about Iranian activities inside Iraq.”

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