Iran was interfering in Iraq, and politicians who were aware of this meddling but refused to denounce it were collaborating with the devil, according to former Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan.
| Tap... Tap... Nope. Didn't budge. Maybe the batteries are dead? |
 Speaking to Asharq al Awsat from the Jordanian capital Amman, where he now resides, Shaalan attacked those âIraqi politicians and ministers whose interests collude with Iran. Some are afraid of the consequences of speaking while others prefer to remain silent and hold on to power.â He added, âArab politicians and some Kurdish leaders are aware of Iranian meddling but chose to remain silent for their own benefit.â
| Lots of money available there. Not as much as from Soddy Arabia, but still a pretty penny... |
Indicating he had concrete proof of Iranâs involvement in its neighborâs affairs, compiled during his tenure as governor of Al Diwaniyah province, Shaalan revealed that Iranian officers traveled to Iraq, after the fall of Saddam Hussein, with forged identity cards from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to harm these countries if they were ever detained. He described himself as âthe lone witness to Iranian interference which started after the fall of the former regime and continues today, and whose aim is to establish an Iranian state in southern Iraq before controlling the rest of the country.â
| I don't think I'd call him a "line witness." There've been enough indications from other sources... |
The ex-minister told Asharq al Awsat about the questioning of an al-Qaeda member from Sudan detained in Al-Diwaniyah in June 2004 after a bottle filled with poison was found in his possession with which he intended to contaminate water purification centers in the province. The interrogation revealed that âthis man traveled to Iraq through Iran, after the Taliban fell in Afghanistanâ, where he has received military training before entering Iraq through the al-Shalamjah border crossing and then traveling to Basra and Al-Diwaniyah. In addition, during his tenure as Defense Minister, Shaalan pointed out that two trucks filled with ammunition from Iran were discovered on their way to Najaf. Weapons in the confiscated cache had Persian writing on them saying, âMade in Iranâ. He also indicated that a Lebanese man was arrested after murdering a Spanish soldier serving in the multinational forces. He was discovered to be a member of the Lebanese pro-Iranian Hezbollah group and had identity cards signed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, âallowing him to travel around Iraq freely and requesting assistance be provided to facilitate his movements.â As governor, Shaalan revealed that he escaped four assassination attempts, the last of which was carried out by an Iraqi man trained in Iran who aimed seven missiles at his convoy but missed. |