August 29, 2007

Iranian Delegates Released By U.S. Military

The U.S. military has released eight Iranians and their seven-man Iraqi security detail after taking the group into custody on Tuesday and holding them overnight for questioning at a military base. The delegation's convoy of four cars was stopped at a security checkpoint, where American and Iraqi forces found that they were carrying unlicensed weapons.

Members of the group were allowed to continue on to their hotel, but shortly after they arrived, U.S. military personnel entered their rooms and confiscated a laptop computer, cell phones and a briefcase full of U.S. and Iranian money. The Iranians were led out blindfolded and handcuffed.

Two of the Iranians were embassy staffers and were carrying diplomatic credentials. The other six were Energy Ministry officials. The group had been invited to Baghdad by the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, to help set up a new power plant. The Iranians were released by the U.S. military after consultations with the Iraqi government.

Tehran was outraged by their seizure, however, and on Wednesday summoned a Swiss diplomat representing American interests to the embassy to voice their complaints. (The U.S. has not had diplomatic relations with Tehran for nearly 30 years.)

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini called the detentions an "interference" in Iraq's internal affairs and criticized the incident as an unjustifiable breach of international laws and regulations.

The arrests come at a time of rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran. On Tuesday, President Bush spoke to the American Legion’s annual convention in Reno, Nev., where he reiterated claims that Iran is behind some of the deadliest attacks on U.S. soldiers in Iraq and that the country's nuclear ambitions represent a threat to the stability of the Middle East. Bush added that "he had authorized the military to 'confront Tehran’s murderous activities.'"

Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told journalists that U.S. power in Iraq is "collapsing" and that Iran and its neighbors will be ready to "fill the gap."

This is the second time this year that the U.S. has seized Iranian citizens in Iraq. In January, the military arrested five Iranians in the northern city of Arbil and accused them of aiding the anti-American insurgency. The U.S. claims that they are members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Qods force; Tehran insists that they are diplomats. The five are still being held, despite Iran's demands for release.

Posted at 11:20 AM
Posted to: Iraq, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Military, President Bush
Share via