U.S. Accuses Iran Of Interference In Iraq.
PRAGUE, June 23, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey, has accused Iran of being behind some of the deadly violence in Iraq, saying Iran was giving weapons and training to extremist Shi'ite groups, and using 'surrogates' to carry out terrorist attacks.
The United States has accused Iran in the past of interfering in Iraq. But General Casey's comments are seen as some of Washington's most outspoken criticisms yet.
At a Pentagon briefing on June 22, Casey called Iran one of the factors that he said were making Iraq's security situation increasingly complex. 'The fourth element that I'd suggest to you [that] adds complexity to the security situation is Iran,' he said.
'We are quite confident that the Iranians, through their covert special operations forces, are providing weapons, IED (improvised-explosive-device) technology and training to Shi'a extremist groups in Iraq, the training being conducted in Iran and in some cases probably in Lebanon, through their surrogates,' Casey added. 'They are using surrogates to conduct terrorist operations in Iraq, both against us and against the Iraqi people. It's decidedly unhelpful.'
But direct talks to discuss Washington's concerns appear unlikely.
Earlier this year, the United States authorized its ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, to meet with Iranian officials to discuss Iraq. Tehran initially said it was willing to talk, but then said such discussions would be of no use.