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Iraq signals changes in protocols with
Iran
19.1.2007
By James Glanz
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January 19, 2007
BAGHDAD, - Iraq is carrying out an extensive
review of its diplomatic protocols with Iran and may
place new restrictions on them, the Iraqi foreign
minister said in an interview on Thursday, after
Iranian military officials and diplomats were picked
up in three separate American actions here.
The raids have deeply embarrassed Iraqi officials,
who say that the United States did not consult with
them before it detained the Iranians, who were
properly accredited visitors to this country.
At the same time, Iraqi officials have been put in
an awkward position by their neighbor, as the Iraqis
concede that at least some of the Iranians appear to
have been working with Shiite
militias, just as the Americans claimed. |
Hoshiyar Zebari, Iraq's foreign minister |
As a result, Iraq has decided to tighten diplomatic
controls on Iranian officials, insisting on detailed
itineraries for their missions here, closer
coordination with Baghdad and pledges that the
officials will not work with armed groups outside
the government, said Hoshyar Zebari, the foreign
minister.
Iraq may also demand that visits by Iranian
officials be personally approved by the prime
minister, Mr. Zebari said. He said this category
would include the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which
the United States denounces as a terrorist
organization but Iraqis regard as an indispensable
player because it is among the most influential
organizations in Iran.
Despite differences over the Guard, Iraq has
signaled its intention to review its protocols with
Iran in light of the American raids, even calling
its ambassador to Tehran back to Baghdad to work on
the changes, Mr. Zebari said.
“We informed them very clearly after the first
incident that there are a number of agreements we
are going to review, and you should be very
careful,” Mr. Zebari said. “Yes, they have been
notified.”
The first of the three episodes began on Dec. 20
near the evening curfew when American forces stopped
a car carrying two Iranian diplomats and some
guards. Early the next morning, American forces
raided the compound of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, one of
Iraq’s most powerful Shiite leaders, and detained a
number of Iraqis with two Iranians who turned out to
be members of the Revolutionary Guard.
The diplomats were soon released, but the military
officials, who the United States said were directly
linked to attacks on Americans, were asked to leave
the country by Iraq only after a nine-day diplomatic
crisis involving the three countries. Finally, a
week ago, the Americans raided what was described as
a diplomatic liaison office in the northern city of
Erbil and detained six Iranians. Mr. Zebari said
Thursday that just one of them had been released.
The United States later asserted that the other five
were indeed members of the Revolutionary Guard,
which it described as “an organization known for
providing funds, weapons, improvised explosive
device technology and training to extremist groups.”
On Thursday, the United States also said that it had
entered the grounds of the Sudanese Embassy in
Baghdad as part of an operation “aimed at denying
insurgents safe haven to carry out attacks against
Iraqi security forces and Iraqi citizens.” No
further details were available.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry in Tehran and the
Iranian Embassy in Baghdad have generally said
little, although on Thursday an Iranian Embassy
office manager who often answers the phone, but
refuses to give his name, said that Mr. Zebari, a
Kurd, had given assurances that the Iranians
detained in Erbil would soon be released.
But in the interview, Mr. Zebari said he had little
information on that issue except that American
forces generally release detainees in 10 days or so
if there is no evidence of wrongdoing. He said that
the United States had a right to investigate people
suspected of attacks but added, “We, as the Iraqi
government, are treading a fine line.”
“On the one hand we understand the U.S. position,”
he continued. “On the other hand, I understand my
geographic position as well,” he said, referring to
the border with Iran. After the raids, he said, the
Iranians “come to us and we are incapable of
responding.”
Mr. Zebari said that as Iraq reviewed its diplomatic
relationship with Iran, the standing agreement that
1,500 religious pilgrims a day can enter this
country was unlikely to change. But the number of
entry points could be reduced as a way of keeping
closer tabs on the traffic, he said.
Visitors with diplomatic passports will be required
to give a clear accounting of the nature of their
mission in Iraq and the likely length of their stay,
he said. Political visitors might be required to
gain the permission of the prime minister, further
clarifying visits that could catch the Americans’
notice, he said.
The two Revolutionary Guards captured in the Baghdad
raid had duly applied for Iraqi visas under an
Iranian diplomatic note in October, Mr. Zebari said.
But he added that there “could have been better
clarification” of what the officials were actually
doing in Iraq, and he conceded that they had not
been truthful about their mission here.
For the first time, Mr. Zebari disclosed the total
number of Iranian diplomats operating officially in
Iraq. There are 36 in the embassy in Baghdad, he
said, along with 11 at the consulate in Karbala and
9 at another consulate in Basra.
The officials detained at the liaison office in
Erbil did not have diplomatic status, he said. As
part of its review, the Foreign Ministry plans to
turn the liaison offices in Iraq into consulates,
giving them official diplomatic status, he said.
He added that it was unclear how many of the liaison
offices there were around the country, but said that
they operated openly.
“This wasn’t something hidden, secretive,” Mr.
Zebari said.
nytimes com
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