NCRI- In a discussion with western reporters on Thursday, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker said Iraqis have a sense that Iran was involved in starting the Basra fighting. Crocker said Iran was not instrumental in bringing about the cease-fire agreement.
He unequivocally repeated that Iran continues to support militias in Iraq and added: Iran must decide whether "to support the state or the militias."
He said the rockets fired last week into the Baghdad Green Zone area were "quite literally made in Iran," and were manufactured in 2007.
Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday during a Pentagon press briefing: "I don't have any independent confirmation with respect to the Iranian involvement in terms of brokering any outcome here at all. I can tell you that both broadly and specifically the Iranian involvement, particularly in that part of Iraq, has still not been very helpful.
"We're still finding IEDs. We're finding weapons caches. We're finding rockets and mortars that are clearly provided by the Iranians. We're — we've captured or killed Iraqis who have recently been trained in Iran. And so the overall thrust with respect to Iran's support of what's going on down there is still very negative."
Photo: Iranian weapons found in Baghdad, 15 February 2008
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Article compiled based on wire reports
