US frees seven Iranians detained in Iraq
The Iranian nationals were arrested in a raid on a hotel in Baghdad yesterday night
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Wednesday, 29, Aug 2007 08:53
US forces in Iraq have freed seven Iranian nationals who were arrested in a hotel in Baghdad last night.
The BBC reports that the Iraqi government had helped arrange the release of the men.
The men were detained after a raid at the Sheraton Ishtar hotel in Baghdad and Associated Press Television showed pictures of the men being taken away in handcuffs.
Soldiers near the blindfolded men were holding briefcases as they led them from the hotel.
In a similar development yesterday, a spokesperson for the multi-national force (MNF) in Iraq stated that three men including "a highly sought weapons facilitator" had been captured in a dawn raid. The man was suspected of distributing weapons, smuggled from Iran, such as explosively formed penetrators that target vehicles.
MNF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Garver said: "Coalition forces will continue their focused operations to interdict Iranian supported terror groups operating in Iraq.
"We remain committed to dismantling terror networks that seek to kill innocent Iraqis, Iraqi security forces, and coalition forces."
The arrested man is also suspected of having direct ties to other senior commanders in militias operating in and around Baghdad. A statement from the coalition added that the two suspects were also thought to be involved in weapons smuggling from the Persian Gulf country.
Hours before the arrests of the Iranian nationals in Baghdad, US president George Bush reiterated his belief that the Islamic republic was aiding and abetting terrorist insurgents in the neighbouring Middle Eastern nation.
Mr Bush voiced his concerns that Iran was playing a part in the ongoing insurgency attacking coalition troops throughout Iraq, saying he has "authorised our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities".
In comments to the official IRNA news agency, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected claims of his government's interference in its neighbour's internal affairs.
"Iran will suffer the most in case of insecurity in Iraq because it shares [the] longest borders with the country," he said.
"Iran has no need for such interferences."
Mr Ahmadinejad claimed that the US always blamed others for its mistakes.
"Charging Iran is not a solution to their problems. We do not insist on taking them out of the quagmire. We have already said we are ready to help them get out the swamp but now that they emphasise to remain in it, so let it be so," he concluded.
The US has threatened to blacklist Iran's Revolutionary Guard force as a terrorist unit, a move which was fiercely criticised by the Persian Gulf country.