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| Iraq | ||
| Iran demands release of nationals | ||
| 2007-01-14 | ||
| Iran has demanded that the US military immediately release five of its nationals detained in a raid in northern Iraq on Thursday. Iran's foreign ministry says the men are diplomats and were working at the Iranian liaison office in Irbil. US officials say they are linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard which they say trains and arms Iraqi insurgents. The US has the authority to pursue Iranians in Iraq who "put our people at risk", a top US official has said. "We are going to need to deal with what Iran is doing inside Iraq," said National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley on Sunday. "We know there are jihadists moving from Syria into Iraq. ...We know also that Iran is supplying elements in Iraq that are attacking Iraqis and attacking our forces," he told ABC Television. If Iranians in Iraq "are doing things that are putting our people at risk, of course we have the authority to go after them and protect our people," Mr Hadley said. The US has often accused Iran, or factions within the Iranian government, of aiding Shia groups in Iraq militarily and politically, but has offered little proof of Tehran's alleged activities. The latest raid followed a warning by President George W Bush on Wednesday that the US would take a tough stance towards Iran and Syria, whom he accused of destabilising Iraq. Tehran vehemently denies the charges. Iran's foreign ministry has said the detained men were "involved in consulate affairs". "Their activities were legal and in the framework of the law," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in response to the allegations. The Iranian government has also demanded compensation for damage to the building where the men were seized. Mr Hosseini said the building the Americans attacked opened in 1992 and was officially registered as the Iranian consulate. The Iraqi authorities have said it was a liaison office in the process of being registered as a consulate.
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| Posted by:3dc |
| #17 RUSSIA > Foreign Minisrry > ERBIL incident shows US-sepcific abuse of UN-International Mandate = diplom protocols. Demands conclusive evidence agz captured Iranians + guarantees for protection of Russian diplom personnel within Iraq. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-01-14 23:30 |
| #16 USN,ret. I like that!I second that motion! I'm watching Bushs interview right now. He said he doesn't worry about his legacy. Worry about it or not, his legacy started Wednesday and Iran is part of it. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2007-01-14 20:40 |
| #15 I think a simple "No" and then hang up would do just fine. No long explanations, no apologies or rationalizations. Just "No." |
| Posted by: USN, ret. 2007-01-14 19:49 |
| #14 Grrr. The iNFIDEL™ |
| Posted by: Brett 2007-01-14 19:20 |
| #13 Release them after placing the Halliburton NuTJoB-12™ GPS/NeoCon® Industries microphone/ZiON Corp. iNFIDEL? mind-controlling microprocessor/transmitter are placed in their bodies. Maybe consider the ZiON Corp. AutoPork™ bacon-injector option too. |
| Posted by: Brett 2007-01-14 19:19 |
| #12 Oh, dear. #8 EF was me, from work. Cookie monster struck again. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-01-14 18:59 |
| #11 How do you say, "Up yours" in Farsi? |
| Posted by: anymouse 2007-01-14 18:11 |
| #10 I say baptize them as Christians. Salvation should be an effective punishment. |
| Posted by: doc 2007-01-14 18:03 |
| #9 Keep Teheran on the defensive. Release info as appropriate to show their true intentions. Grab some more "diplos" as appropriate. Start putting the heat on Iran. We are several years late in this endeavor, so we better get crackin'. Best defense is a good offense. And do the actions without a bunch of verbage. Let the MMs and dinnerjacket seethe and rave if they wish. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2007-01-14 17:41 |
| #8 Go ahead and release 'em. In boxes. COD. |
| Posted by: Ebbigum Fluting4682 2007-01-14 15:28 |
| #7 Mark my words, the 'tit for tat' is coming. As we speak, the Iranians are trying to find or 'appropriately' apprehend western or American contractors, journalists, or statesmen for the eventual 'swap'! The ante will be upped! |
| Posted by: smn 2007-01-14 14:51 |
| #6 I wonder if we intend to provoke the Iraniacs until they do something overtly stupid. |
| Posted by: SR-71 2007-01-14 12:15 |
| #5 I wouldn't hold them for long. Just long enough to get their confessions (freely given or otherwise). Then return the corpses to Iran. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2007-01-14 10:51 |
| #4 wasn't a consulate and they weren't diplodinks. F*ck off. We're not done with em or the info confiscated....making a powerpoint for the presidential speech notifying why we attacked Iran |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-01-14 07:41 |
| #3 We only got 5 of 'em 2x4 so we gotta keep 'em 4600 or so days. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-01-14 06:40 |
| #2 Does this picture make it perfectally clear Iran... |
| Posted by: RD 2007-01-14 03:16 |
| #1 Iran demands release of citizens How'bout after 444 days? |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-01-14 03:14 |