Crocker: Iran in proxy war with US
Press TV.ir – April 12, 2008
A US diplomat has said that Iran is engaged in a proxy war with the US in Iraq, adopting tactics similar to those it has been using in Lebanon.
The US Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, said in an interview that there had been no substantive change in the behavior of the Iranian officials in Iraq, despite more than a year of talks between Washington and Tehran over security issues in Iraq, the New York Times said Friday.
He said that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps was continuing to direct attacks by Shiite militias against American and Iraqi targets, although he offered no direct evidence.
Asked if the United States and Iran were engaged in a proxy war in Iraq, Crocker said, “I don't think a proxy war is being waged from an American point of view.” But, he added, “When you look at what the Iranians are doing and how they're doing it, it could well be that.”
While the Bush administration officials have long denounced what they have described as Iran's meddling in Iraq, Crocker's language was unusually strong, reflecting fresh concern about what he described in Congressional testimony this week as Iran's role in supplying militias with training and weapons, including rockets used in recent attacks on the Green Zone, in Baghdad.
Iran has vehemently rejected US claims, saying that it supports the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in its efforts to establish peace and stability in that country and that Iran is doing everything in its power to contribute to these efforts.
SF/GM
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=51272§ionid=3510203
Last updated 15/04/2008