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| Iraq |
| Iran casts its shadow over high-stakes Iraq vote |
| 2010-03-04 |
| As the U.S. prepares to withdraw its forces from Iraq, Iran is said to be working hard to fill a potential power vacuum — an effort that faces its first big test in Sunday's elections, in which Tehran is backing hard-liners against a coalition of moderates. Shiite Iran already has reliable allies in Syria, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Gaza's Hamas, and a free rein in Iraq would broaden its regional leverage, unnerving Israel and potentially diminishing the clout of Sunni powerhouses like Saudi Arabia and Egypt. But it is Iran's alleged political meddling — what U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill called its "malevolent involvement" — that most troubles U.S and Iraqi officials. According to a senior Iraqi government security official with access to intelligence reports, it was Iranian influence that brought about the election alliance between two avowed Shiite rivals — the Sadrists who follow Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric believed to be living in Iran, and the Iranian-backed Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. |
| Posted by:ed |