|
Iraq's deputy prime minister hopes Iran
will do more to help to stabilise Iraq
11.12.2007
|
|
|
|
December
11, 2007
SULAIMANIYAH, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', --
Iraq's deputy prime minister has credited Tehran
with helping curb the activities of a radical Shia
Muslim militia, and he is also hoping Iran will do
more to help stabilise its western neighbour.
"There is no doubt the Iranians have recently
applied influence and leverage over Jaish al-Mahdi
to contain and limit its operations inside Iraq,"
Barham Salih said in an interview to IPS. "This is a
welcome sign. But I'll be very frank with you: the
very fact that Iran can turn on and off the
activities of Jaish al-Mahdi is one of concern to me
as an Iraqi official."
Washington has long accused Tehran of training,
arming and funding Shia extremist groups in Iraq
such as the Mehdi Army militia run by cleric Muqtada
al Sadr. U.S. defence secretary Robert Gates
repeated claims of Iranian interference on Saturday,
and called Tehran's foreign policies a threat to the
United States and to the Middle East.
But his comments followed those of some U.S.
officials who said in recent weeks that Iran appears
to have halted the flow of arms across its border
with its western neighbour, Iraq.
Iraq's government spokesman has said the change in
Iran's behaviour came when Iraq's Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki received a pledge from Iranian
leaders on his visit to Tehran in August that they
would clamp down on cross-border flow of weapons,
money and people.
Tehran denies interfering in Iraq and has often
blamed instability in Iraq on the presence of
foreign troops.
Despite their mutual animosity, however, Iran and
the U.S. have held three rounds of high-level talks
on Iraqi security. On Sunday, Iran's foreign
ministry announced that Iraqi officials have
proposed holding the next round Dec. 18.
Senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani said
on Saturday that throughout this process, his
country has helped improve security in Iraq.
"This time around, if the Americans pay attention to
the fact that Iran has a prominent role in the Iraqi
issue and can help --because of its moral influence
in Iraq and its political influence -- it can help
the Iraqi government," Ali Larijani said on Iran's
state-run television.
Salih declined to say whether he believed Iran
wanted stability in his country. "The strategic
interest of Iran should be (for it to be) engaged in
promoting a stable, democratic, federal Iraq, as
opposed to some people thinking they can work
through cronies and proxies.
"Next to the people of Iraq, the Iranian people were
the main beneficiaries of the removal of Saddam
Hussein regime," he added. "Instead of meddling in
the internal affairs of Iraq,www.ekurd.net
the government of Iran,
the Iranian system, should invest in the stability
of Iraq and make sure that the new Iraqi system is
one that is at peace with its people and its
neighbours."
The prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan's regional
government Nechirvan Barzani also said he believes
Iran should want stability in Iraq.
"I think Iran must play a bigger role in the
stability of Iraq, and Iran can do this to some
extent," Nechirvan Barzani said in an interview.
"Stability in Iraq is to the benefit of all
countries -- for Iran and others in the region.
"We don't know if the information that Americans
have shown us until now that Iran is (sending
weapons across the border into Iraq), is true or
not. If it is, we think it would not be to the
benefit of either Iraq or Iran."
Mohamad Gouma, political advisor to Kurdistan
President Massoud Barzani,www.ekurd.net
however, said that at
least in Iraqi Kurdistan, Tehran has been aiming for
calm and peace. In recent years, Iraq's northern
Kurdish region has enjoyed relative stability and
prosperity, compared to other areas of Iraq.
"Relations between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran are
good, both historically and today," Gouma said.
"It's true that we have good relations with America,
too, and also that enmity exists between Washington
and Tehran, but we don't play any role in their
game."
He added that if the U.S. one day decides to launch
a military attack on Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan would
remain neutral.
"We are opposed to war, and we would not have any
place in such a war," he said. "If a war would
happen, it would be the biggest war that would take
place in the Middle East."
Washington has not ruled out using military force
against Tehran over its nuclear programme, which the
United States claims is aimed at producing nuclear
weapons -- a charge Iran denies.
When asked how Iraq would respond if Washington
requests its help in a potential attack on Iran,
Salih, who is Kurdish, said Iraq wants to stay out
of the dispute.
"We do not want our territory to be used as a
staging post for attacks against any of our
neighbours," he said. "We don't want our territory
to be used as an area for settling scores.
Instability in Iraq will cause instability in the
neighbourhood, including Iran as well, and everyone
should be aware of the consequences of this
instability."
IPS
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 