Top US general doubts Iran proof
The most senior US military officer has said there is no proof the
Iranian government has directly armed Shia groups fighting in Iraq.
Gen Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, appeared to
contradict claims made by US officers in Iraq.
The US presented evidence this week it said proved the "highest levels"
of Iran's government were supplying arms used by Shia militants in Iraq.
Gen Pace said all it proved was "things made in Iran" are being used in
Iraq.
"We know that the explosively formed projectiles are manufactured in
Iran," Gen Pace said while visiting Australia.
"But I would not say by what I know that the Iranian government clearly
knows or is complicit."
In the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, Gen Pace repeated his assertions.
"What [the evidence] does say is that things made in Iran are being used
in Iraq to kill coalition soldiers."
In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Snow said the US stood by the
evidence presented, insisting the weapons were being moved into Iraq by
Iran's revolutionary guards, or al-Quds force.
"The Quds Force is, in fact, an official arm of the Iranian government
and, as such, the government bears responsibility and accountability for
its actions, as you would expect of any sovereign government," he said.
'Meddling'
Speaking anonymously on Sunday, US defence officials in Baghdad told
reporters that the Iranian were supplying sophisticated bombs capable of
penetrating the armour of a US-made Abrams tank.
The bombs were being used to deadly effect, killing more than 170 US
troops since June 2004, the sources said.
Iran swiftly rejected the claims, describing them as "propaganda".
The US has increased the pressure on Iran in recent weeks, repeatedly
accusing Tehran of meddling in Iraqi affairs.
Last month, five Iranians were detained by the US in the northern Iraqi
city of Irbil. The US later accused them of working for the al-Quds Force.
Suggestions by some analysts that the US allegations against Iran were
intended to prepare public opinion in the US for an attack on Iranian
nuclear facilities have prompted public statements by the leaders of
both nations.
US President George W Bush dismissed suggestions of a plan to attack
Iran as "noise" by critics of his administration.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in an interview with US TV, said
he was ready for talks with the US, but would defend Iran in the event
of any attack.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/6360469.stm
Published: 2007/02/14 11:51:34 GMT
© BBC MMVII
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