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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran Denies Involvement In UK Troop Killings |
| 2005-10-06 |
| Tehran, 6 Oct. (AKI) - Iran has rejected accusations by British officials that it is involved in attacks which have killed at least eight British soldiers in Iraq. On Wednesday, one senior British official said the insurgents in the south of Iraq were using a sophisticated roadside bomb, triggered when an infra-red beam is touched, designed and produced by the Iranian-backed guerrilla group Hezbollah. But speaking on Iranian television, foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza-Asefi branded the claim a lie. "The British are the cause of instability and crisis in Iraq," he said. "By drafting such scenarios they are trying to find a partner in their crimes." "From the very beginning, we have stated our position very clearly - a stable Iraq is in our interests and that is what the Iraqi authorities have said themselves on many occasions." The technology is thought to have been used in attacks by insurgents from the Mehidi army, led by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr. One of the group's leaders, Ahmed al-Fartusi, was recently arrested by British troops, sparking anti-British protests in the southern city of Basra, where the UK forces are based. The British official, speaking anonymously, accused Iran of helping Sunni as well as Shiite insurgents, despite the Islamic Republic being Shiite-dominated. He also suggested that Iran's involvement in providing the technology could be related to British pressure over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons ambitions. Britain, France and Germany were the three European Union countries given the task of trying to resolve the problem. "It would be entirely natural that they would want to send a message 'Don't mess with us'," the official said. In July one of the roadside devices killed three soldiers who were patrolling near the Iranian border. Five other soldiers were killed this year by similar bombs, as well as two British security guards who were protecting diplomats. Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia recently sparked a diplomatic row with Iran by accusing it of meddling in Iraq's internal affairs. Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki has now put off a planned visit to the Saudi kingdom. One of the main concerns of Sunnis in Iraq over the new constitution is the provision for an autonomous region in the Shiite south, along the lines of the Kurdish region in the north. They fear an autonomous region in the south would divide Iraq, allowing Shiites to control all the oil wealth there and allowing Shiite-ruled Iran to gain influence in Iraq. |
| Posted by:Steve |