Iran’s influence in Iraq

Iran has been accused of being the world’s biggest sponsor of terrorism [AFP]

The US state department has accused Iran of being the world’s biggest sponsor of terrorism.

In its latest report on global terrorism released on April 30, the state department says that despite Iran’s pledge to help stabilise Iraq, the Iranians continue to provide logistical and financial support to militant groups which are targeting coalition and Iraqi security forces.

This assessment comes in the wake of recent remarks to Congress by General David Petraeus, the top US military commander in Iraq, that Iranian-made weapons and explosives are killing American soldiers in Iraq.

Iraq is distancing itself from such accusations, opting for a more diplomatic and conciliatory approach to its neighbour. The Iraqi government says there is no conclusive evidence to the US state department’s charges and that it will not be pushed into any brewing conflict with Iran.

How will this latest US salvo on Iran play out amidst the escalating violence and rising death toll of both Iraqi civilians and American troops in Iraq?

What political balancing act will the Iraqi leadership need to perform in order to maintain its relations and diplomacy with Iran against a more robust military strategy which the US is pushing?

Our guests this week are:

Dr. Pirouz Mojtahed-Zadeh from Teheran University, David Foley of the US state department and Ali Nouri Zadeh, the director for the Center of Arab-Iranian Studies. 

Watch part one of this episode of Inside Iraq

Watch part two of this episode of Inside Iraq

This episode of Inside Iraq aired on Friday, May 09, 2008

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