Iran Must Stop Meddling in Iraq

US officials suspect Iran of supplying weapons and explosives to insurgents in Iraq. Unfortunately this has only fueled the sectarian conflict and prolonged the occupation of Iraq. I wonder to what extent Iran has aided Sunni Arab insurgents.

US Officials: Iran Caught Red-Handed

Evidence Said to Show Iran Supplying Weapons to Iraqi Enemies of US
Posted 1 hr. 58 min. ago
By Hossam al-Shahmani

Baghdad, Feb 11, (VOI) – Iran is fanning the flames of sectarian violence and backing killings and attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, a spokesman for the Multi-National Force in Iraq (MNF-I) said on Sunday. "We have evidence that Iran provided insurgents with explosive devices and trained them to use these weapons, produced between 2004 and 2006," William Caldwell said in a press conference in Baghdad.

"The Iranian suspects detained in Arbil have confirmed these reports and we have found with them maps and explosives-related material. Those Iranians were trying to get rid of these documents in the lavatories," Caldwell added.

He said "the Iraqi government has notified us that they (the Iranians) were not diplomats and had no passports."

"Iran's refrain from smuggling weapons and money would not end the sectarian problem in Iraq but would lessen it because Iran is stirring sectarian sentiments and violence while the Iraqi people want to live in peace and security," said Caldwell. On U.S. moves against Iran under the claims that it backs violence, Caldwell said "we're moving now because the U.S. casualties resulting from explosive devices, which did not exist in Iraq before, were growing in number."

Caldwell noted that these explosive charges increased casualties among MNF-I troops during the past months to 170 in addition to 700 others injured. Caldwell, in the press conference attended by a U.S. army explosives expert and a U.S. Defense Department analyst, demonstrated samples of various weapons including explosive charges, booby traps, mortar shells of different calibers, remote controls and IDs of Iranians he said were involved in acts of violence and attacks in Iraq.

The U.S. analyst said "Iranian weapons were experimented in South Lebanon by Hezbollah and were later developed," adding "the explosive charges used by Iranian agents in Iraq need a special manufacturing process, which is available only in Iran."

The U.S. analyst added that the electronic device used in detonating it is using negative infrared ray.

The U.S. explosives expert, in the rank of major, said the devices found contain iron shrapnel that penetrate the body of Hummer vehicles.