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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Iraq Defense Minister Withdraws Accusations Against Iran |
| 2004-08-10 |
| From BBC News Iran says Iraq has expressed regret over comments from one of its ministers accusing Tehran of arming Shia militia groups in the holy city of Najaf. Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said he had been reassured that the comments by Hazim al-Shalaan did not represent an official view of the Najaf situation. .... Iran's defence minister had slammed his Iraqi counterpart as an inexperienced political amateur for making the claim. .... The latest disagreement began on Monday when Mr Shalaan, Iraq's interim defence minister, told Dubai-based al-Arabiya television that Mr Sadr's militia was receiving weapons from Iran. "Iran has left a fingerprint in Najaf. There are weapons made inside Iran that were found in Najaf in the hands of these criminals which have received these arms through the Iranian borders," he said. "Facts about what has happened to the Iraqi people show... that [Iran] is the number one enemy." His Iranian counterpart Ali Shamkhani hit back on Tuesday, saying Mr Shalaan's comments showed he lacked the minimum qualifications for knowing the truth. Iran's right-wing press went further, with one conservative newspaper, Kayhan, describing Mr Shalaan as a "dyed-in-the-wool Baathist" whose hands are dipped deep in the innocent blood of Iraqi and Iranian Muslims. Later on Tuesday, Mr Kharrazi said he had discussed the matter with his own counterpart, Hoshyar Zebari, by telephone. "The Iraqi foreign minister expressed regret and said [Mr Shalaan's comments] were not the official stance of the Iraqi government," he told the official Irna news agency. .... |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |