Bush Says Iranian Group “Certainly” Providing Weapons in Iraq
Washington -- President Bush said Iran’s al-Quds Force, a branch of the country’s Revolutionary Guards, is “certainly” providing weapons to groups in Iraq that are targeting coalition forces and said the United States “will deal” with networks and agents involved in their movement and deployment. In a February 14 press conference at the White House, Bush said the United States does not know whether Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, ordered al-Quds to provide sophisticated incendiary explosive devices (IEDs) to Iraqi groups. “But we do know that they're there. And I intend to do something about it” in order to protect U.S. forces. “[W]e will continue to protect our troops,” Bush said.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Washington -- President Bush said Iran’s al-Quds Force, a branch of the country’s Revolutionary Guards, is “certainly” providing weapons to groups in Iraq that are targeting coalition forces and said the United States “will deal” with networks and agents involved in their movement and deployment.
In a February 14 press conference at the White House, Bush said the United States does not know whether Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, ordered al-Quds to provide sophisticated incendiary explosive devices ( IEDs ) to Iraqi groups. “But we do know that they're there. And I intend to do something about it” in order to protect U.S. forces. “[W]e will continue to protect our troops,” Bush said.
Bush described al-Quds as “a vital part of the Iranian government.”
He also said the United States is pursuing a comprehensive strategy toward Iran, with Iran’s “desire to have a nuclear weapon” as the United States’ biggest concern.
The president called for a verifiable suspension of Iran’s nuclear program to open the way for dialogue between the two countries, adding his wish to be “given a chance … to explain that we have no desire to harm the Iranian people.”
He said all U.S. policies with regard to Iran are “aimed at convincing the Iranian people there's a better way forward, and I hope their government hears that message.”
During a February 14 briefing in Baghdad, Iraq, spokesman for the Multinational Force in Iraq Major General William Caldwell discussed evidence that the IED devices, known as explosively formed penetrators ( EFPs ), are being manufactured in Iran and supplied to “various extremist groups” in Iraq.
“[W]e are asking the Iranian government to assist in stopping that from occurring. There's no intent to do anything other than that,” Caldwell said.
However, “since we have been unsuccessful through other political means thus far, we decided to go public with this and talk about these EFPs … because of the devastating effect that they do have when employed against security forces in this country,” he said.
The use of EFPs against Iraqi and coalition forces has risen 150 percent since January 2005 and coalition forces have suffered more than 170 killed and more than 620 wounded by EFPs since 2004, according to Caldwell.
Besides physical evidence of weaponry, Caldwell also said coalition forces have “a number” of al-Quds Force officers in custody. Those officers “obviously work for the government of Iran,” he added.
Caldwell also said coalition forces have debriefed Iranian and Iraqi detainees. “[T]hey, in fact, have told us that [al-Quds] Force provides supports to extremist groups here in Iraq, in the forms of both money and in weaponry.”
He added that some of the explosive material has been discovered coming over the border from Iran to Iraq.
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns said President Bush’s message to Iran is “we’re not going to stand for this and the Iranian government should stop it.” Burns spoke February 14 at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
He said the United States is concerned about terrorist activities in both Sunni and Shiite areas of Iraq. However, “what makes Iran’s role so unique is that it is a state.”
The Bush administration says the actions of al-Quds, as an “organ” of the state, “are the responsibility of the Iranian government,” he said.
“The fact that a state is intervening to supply this technology is a very important thing. It’s one that you cannot disregard because one of our primary responsibilities is not only the maintenance of security in Iraq but also the preservation of the lives of our soldiers,” he said.
Burns acknowledged that it is “inevitable” that Iran will play a role in the affairs of its neighbor. “We have never argued against a peaceful role by Iran to help the Iraqis build a state and help them build their economy. But we do react and will continue to react against attempts to go after our soldiers or for Iran to play, in this case indirectly perhaps, a military role.”
He denied allegations that the United States is trying to provoke or seek a military conflict with Iran, saying the Bush administration believes that its ongoing diplomatic efforts on Iran’s nuclear activities ultimately will succeed.
“There’s no reason for us to become impatient with this process. There’s every reason for us to be patient and skillful and focused on an international level,” he said.
Burns said the June 2006 offer to Iran by countries including the United States to provide incentives, including a civil-nuclear program, in exchange for a temporary suspension of its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities is “still on the table.”
“We’re trying to talk to the Iranians,” he said, and recalled Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s offer to negotiate personally with the Iranian government if it accepted the incentives offer, and even use the occasion to discuss issues beyond Iran’s nuclear activities.
“There’s an exit door for the Iranians from their isolation. There’s a way out for them diplomatically,” he said. “They ought to accept this offer.”
Burns said a growing number of countries are reacting to the Iranian government’s refusal to listen to the concerns of the international community, including the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations, over its nuclear activities.
“The movement in Iran is away from compromise and so I think you’re beginning to see an effort by the EU and other countries to ratchet up the pressure,” Burns said.
The under secretary also said a second U.N. resolution might be needed to increase pressure on Iran.
A transcript of President Bush’s press conference is available on the White House Web site.
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