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| Britain |
| Blair splits hairs over Iranian involvement in Iraqi bombings |
| 2005-10-07 |
| British Prime Minister Tony Blair says evidence points to Iranian ties to bombings in Iraq, although Britain does not have definite proof. "We cannot be sure," Blair told a news conference Thursday, but "there are certain pieces of information that lead us back either to Iranian elements or to Hezbollah." In a news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in London, Blair repeated what a British official had told a journalists' briefing the previous day. Tehran has denied the accusations. The official accused Iran of supplying weapons to a Shiite militia in Iraq which were then used to attack British troops, eight of whom have died. The official said on Wednesday that "elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard" appeared to be involved in smuggling armor-piercing explosives and infrared control mechanisms into southern Iraq. "What is clear is that there have been new explosive devices used, not just against British troops but elsewhere in Iraq," Blair told the news conference. "The particular nature of those devices lead us either to Iranian elements or to Hezbollah, because they are similar to the devices used by Hezbollah." Iran categorically denied this accusation. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi on Wednesday called the claims of Iran's involvement in attacks on British soldiers in southern Iraq and weapon smuggling to that country a "lie." Hezbollah also rejected any link to the bombs. "The British accusations that the party is the source of the explosives that have targeted the British occupation are lies," the group said in a statement issued in Beirut. Meanwhile, Iraq's Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari rejected accusations that Shi'ite Muslim Iran was interfering in Iraq's internal affairs. Asked about accusations that Iran was interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq, Jaafari told Iranian state television: "Such accusations are baseless and we do not agree with them at all," Reuters reported. CNN's European Political Editor Robin Oakley said Blair had issued "a warning" to Tehran that the British government "would not be intimidated and it would not stop them raising their objections to an Iranian nuclear program which could lead to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons." Tensions between London and Tehran have increased in recent weeks due to Britain's tough stance against Iran's nuclear program. Iran says its activities are purely peaceful. But Britain has increasingly sided with Washington's view that Tehran has failed to dispel doubts that it may be building atomic bombs and should be referred to the U.N. Security Council for international action. Britain also is embroiled in a controversy over its alleged role in ethnic disturbances in southwestern Iran this year, Reuters reported. Iranian officials have suggested that those behind a string of bombings that killed seven people in Khuzestan province in June received training from British forces in Iraq. The British Embassy in Tehran on Wednesday issued a statement denying involvement in the Khuzestan unrest. "British forces have not interfered with Iranian domestic affairs, and the claimed budget for such activity does not exist," the statement said, referring to increasingly feverish allegations against the British in Tehran's hard-line media. "British forces are not providing any form of assistance to any Khuzestan dissident group in Iraq." During Thursday's news conference, Blair and Talabani addressed the issues of establishing democracy and providing security for the Iraqi people. Blair told Talabani that Britain will maintain a presence in Iraq as long as the country wants it to, and Talabani said the violent insurgency requires the presence of U.S. and British forces. Blair said Iraqis want democracy and made the point by turning out in droves last January for transitional assembly elections. "It's so important that we stay the course and see this through," Blair said. Talabani thanked Britain for its help in ousting Saddam Hussein's regime -- which he called a "concentration camp above ground and a mass grave beneath it." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #4 Asked about accusations that Iran was interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq, Jaafari told Iranian state television: "Such accusations are baseless and we do not agree with them at all," Reuters reported. I call bullshit on Jaafari! EP |
| Posted by: ElvisHasLeftTheBuilding 2005-10-07 13:44 |
| #3 I wouldn't be so sure. |
| Posted by: Elmeting Gling4826 2005-10-07 12:57 |
| #2 British Prime Minister Tony Blair says evidence points to Iranian ties to bombings in Iraq, although Britain does not have definite proof. And if he had such proof, what would he do then? I suspect the answer to that question would be: "nothing of any consequence". |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-10-07 12:18 |
| #1 "although Britain does not have definite proof." "We cannot be sure," "appeared to be involved" "are similar to the devices" Why would Blair make an announcement loaded with such qualifying statements? To put pressure on Iran? Or to simply create tommorrows Headlines? You make the call. Blair warns Iran on Iraq bombings- UPI Iran denies Blair charge of Iraq meddling-AP Blair suspects Iran in Iraq Blasts- CNN Was Tony Blair right to warn Iran not to interfere in Iraq?- BBC (opinion poll) |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2005-10-07 11:00 |