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U.S., Iran dial down tensions in Iraq
The US military announced Tuesday that it would release nine Iranians.
By Sam Dagher | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the November 7, 2007 edition
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Baghdad - The US military's announcement Tuesday that it plans to release nine Iranians held in Iraq comes amid growing signals that both the US and Iran are seeking to ease tensions over Iraq.
The US has accused Iran of providing insurgents weaponry to target US forces, something Iran has denied. But Rear Adm. Greg Smith said Tuesday that recent weapons and ammunition finds provide "evidence" that Iran has decreased its shipments to Iraq of rockets and sophisticated roadside bombs, which have taken a heavy toll on US forces this year. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week that it was "too early to tell" if the drop in attacks was due to any Iranian effort. But he and US commanders noted a nearly 50 percent drop in attacks using explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) from July to October.
In Tehran, analysts say the release, long sought by Iran, may be a quid pro quo. "Maybe this is reciprocity for the reduction of violence in Iraq," says Mohammad Hadi Semati, of Tehran University. "It is definitely a sign from both sides that they are trying to send signals to each other, to disengage, to calm things down."
Of the nine Iranians released, two were from a group of five detained by US forces in a raid Arbil in January. Iran immediately demanded their release, but the US military said they were agents engaged in anticoalition activity and caught with a "treasure trove" of intelligence. Three of the group are still being held.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the release of the Iranians is not connected to postive if uncertain signs that Iran may be trying to stem the flow of shipments of bomb-making materials, including EFPs.
Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari hailed the move as "a very important decision," saying that the Iraqi government played an important role in securing the release of the nine detainees. He said the actual handover of the Iranians will be facilitated by the Iraqi government.
"We are very delighted that such a decision has been taken," he told the Monitor. "[I]t will help build confidence.... It will remove one of the sticking points that will make [US-Iranian] dialogue move forward to produce some results to stabilize Iraq."
Also on Tuesday, Tehran announced the opening of a new consulate in Arbil, the capital of the semiautonomous Kurdish north. Foreign Minister Zebari said another Iranian consulate will open soon in Kurdistan's second-largest city, Suleimaniyah, after Iraq opened three consulates in Iran. Ties between Iraq and Iran have been rapidly increasing, with trade between both nations amounting to more than one billion dollars last year of which half involving Kurdistan.
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