Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said Wednesday that instability in Iraq was a threat to Iran's security and that his nation wants to help make the upcoming transfer of power in Iraq succeed. Iran was not playing a mediating role in neighboring Iraq, Kharrazi said, but he added that Tehran had sent a fact-finding delegation "to see what is the real situation, what are the views of different people." The official Islamic Republic News Agency reported last week that a top Foreign Ministry official, Hossein Sadeghi, was sent to Iraq to consult with members of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council and Iraqi clerics.
Tehran and Washington have held behind-the-scenes communication on how to restore order in Iraq. Iran has great influence in mostly Shiite southern Iraq and has an interest in the success of the U.S.-led political process. Kharrazi met French President Jacques Chirac and said he planned talks with U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who favors dissolving the U.S.-backed Governing Council and setting up a caretaker government. The caretaker government would be chosen by the United Nations, the current Governing Council, the U.S. coalition authority and a select group of Iraqi judges. "Security in Iraq has a direct impact on our security, therefore we believe that as soon as possible, power has to be transferred to Iraqis," Kharrazi said.
| "Tater wasn't able to set off a real uprising, so we're making the best of what's left. Once we've got an administration set up by the UN, we can start subverting it..." |
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