Iran involved in Sadr City truce, says Iraqi MP\

progressive

(Tue, 13 May 2008 09:57:58 -0500 (CDT)) --- Iran involved in Sadr City truce, says Iraqi MP\ By Waleed Ibrahim
Reuters
May 12, 2008

Baghdad - Iran played a prominent role in a deal struck by Iraqi Shi'ite
factions to end seven weeks of fighting in the Baghdad stronghold of cleric
Moqtada al-Sadr, a senior Shi'ite Iraqi legislator said on Monday.

Ali al-Adeeb, a member of the ruling Shi'ite alliance who is close to Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said an Iraqi delegation that went to Tehran almost
two weeks ago asked for Iranian help because of Tehran's influence over
Sadr's movement.

Adeeb's comments illustrated the growing sway Shi'ite Iran has in Iraq and
could unsettle Washington.

The deal to end fighting between security forces and gunmen loyal to the
anti-American Sadr was unveiled on Saturday. It was announced after talks
between the ruling Shi'ite alliance and Sadr's political movement, which has
seats in parliament.

"The Iranians gave a positive response to the demands made by the
delegation. They gave those demands to the Sadrist decision makers because
they have specific influence on those people," Adeeb, who was part of the
delegation, told Reuters.

He did not say whether Iranian officials spoke to Sadr, who the U.S.
military says is living in Iran where he is believed to be taking advanced
Islamic studies.

Washington, at loggerheads with Tehran over Iran's nuclear ambitions, has
blamed much of the violence in Sadr City on rogue elements of his Mehdi Army
militia.

It says these groups are armed, trained and funded by Iran. Tehran denies
the allegation and says the violence in Iraq is caused by the presence of
U.S. forces.

Adeeb said the delegation met Iranian political and security officials and
discussed how to restore security in Sadr City. The fighting erupted when
Maliki launched a crackdown on militias in late March.

SADR'S MOVEMENT

Adeeb said that after the Iraqi delegation returned to Baghdad in early May,
talks were held with Sadr's political movement. Those discussions culminated
in the agreement announced on Saturday.

"The talks made in Iran were followed by more talks here in Baghdad with the
representatives of the Sadr bloc," he said.

Asked if he believed the Iranians had put pressure on Sadr to reach the
agreement, Adeeb said:

"I don't want to say it is pressure. But the Iranians have their point of
view. We told them that imposing security is for the benefit of all parties
in Iraq."

Iraqi officials acknowledge Iran has considerable influence in Iraq, partly
through ties to Shi'ite politicians and parties that were based in Iran for
many years during the rule of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Arab.

Iranian officials were also involved in efforts to end fighting between the
Mehdi Army and Iraqi security forces in the southern city of Basra in late
March.

A Western diplomat in Tehran said he believed Iran's role in Iraq was
"really deep".

But the Iranian aim was to make life difficult for Washington, not for the
Shi'ite-led government, he said.

He said Iran wanted to make clear it was an important player in the Middle
East: "It is a way of showing the U.S. and Iraqi government they have the
power (to stop trouble if they want)."

In an illustration of the tightrope Baghdad is walking with Tehran, the same
delegation that sought help on ending the violence in Sadr City also gave
evidence to Iranian officials of the Islamic Republic's backing of Shi'ite
militias in Iraq.

Soon after the delegation returned to Baghdad, the government said Maliki
had ordered the formation of a committee to compile evidence of Iranian
"interference" in Iraq that would then be presented to Tehran.

(Additional reporting by Fred Dahl in Tehran) (Writing by Dean Yates,
Editing by Richard Balmforth)

www.reuters.com

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