Iran is trying to cement its ties with neighboring Iraq, and the offers of help include plans to train Iraqi diplomats, a senior Iranian foreign ministry official said.
Mohammed Omrani, deputy director of the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Special Headquarters for Iraq, spoke over the weekend at a seminar focusing on the revival of "revolutionary Islam" and the challenges Iraq currently faces. According to the Iranian Fars News Agency, Omrani said that Iran has succeeded in playing a "correct and positive role" in the "new conditions of the region."
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A year ago, the Iranians signed a deal with the Iraqis to train the Iraqi intelligence corps, said Prof. Amatzia Baram from the University of Haifa. The U.S. told the Iraqis to scrap the idea, he said in an interview. By offering to train the Iraqi diplomats, Iran may be hoping that the Iraqis will spy for them one day, Baram said. |