Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms abducted Iranian diplomat Jalal Sharafi, the second secretary at the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, Iraqi and Iranian officials said. In an interview with ABC News, Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kazami Qomi, blamed the United States for the kidnapping. He alleged that the Iraqi troops are "under the control and responsibility of the American forces here" and that the U.S. military uses them for its own purposes. U.S. military officials deny any involvement in the abduction. Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a military spokesperson who works with Multinational Forces in Iraq (MNF-I), said it has been determined that MNF-I was not involved with the kidnapping of the Iraqi diplomat. "We talked to Iraqi units we work with and we have no report of anything corresponding to this sort of operation" said Garver.
The ambassador also said that the United States has six Iranian diplomats as well as 30 additional Iranians in its custody, alleging that some have been held for as long as three years. He accused the Bush administration of "turning Iraq into a stage for settling its own accounts with others at the cost of the Iraqi people." Furthermore, he said U.S. policy is preventing other countries from engaging Iraq. When asked about the various weapons U.S. officials claim to have recovered, Qomi laughed and asked in English, "have you seen these weapons?"
The U.S. and Iraqi military are set to begin a major push to secure Baghdad, with many troops already taking up positions in different neighborhoods. The role of Iraqi forces will be critical in this operation. Some Iraqi soldiers are being offered cash bonuses to ensure that they will show up for the fight. Qomi was skeptical that the new plan for securing Baghdad will be successful. During his interview with ABC News two bombs went off nearby and the electricity went out.
Iraq and Iran, he said, have begun discussions on how Iran can assist Iraq with military aid. Areas of military and security cooperation are border control, intelligence, training, technical training and supplying weapons to Iraq. He would not specify what sorts of weapons. He said that Iran plans on opening two new consulates in Irbil and Suly.
