Iran's Leader: U.S. Is Causing Iraq Instability

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press
September 14, 2006

TEHRAN, Iran — Supreme Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the visiting Iraqi prime minister yesterday that the way to end instability in Iraq is for American forces to withdraw.

Prime Minister al-Maliki was on the second day of his first visit to Iran since he taking office in May, looking to a close ally of his Shiite-led government for help in calming the violence tearing apart Iraq and in developing Iraq's troubled oil industry.

He told Ayatollah Khamenei that the Iranian governments must stop outside influences that are having a "negative" impact on Iraq's security, the Iraqi leader's spokesman said. With Iraq torn by sectarian violence between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, as well as a Sunni-led insurgency, America has frequently accused the Iranian regime of interfering in Iraqi politics and allowing insurgents to cross the border. Tehran denies that.

Ayatollah Khamenei told Mr. Maliki that Iran "considers it an obligation to support the Iraqi government in practical ways," Iran's state news agency said.

But Ayatollah Khamenei — who holds the final word in all political matters in Iran — made clear Iran wants to see the withdrawal of American troops, which he blamed in part for the turmoil in Iraq.

"Part of [Iraq's] sufferings have been due to the actions of the former regime, and part is due to the presence of occupiers in Iraq," Ayatollah Khamenei told Mr. Maliki, according to the Iranian state news agency and state television.

"We hope a day will come when the Iraqi people reach the stage they deserve and that, by cutting the hands of the foreigners, its wealth will come to serve the Iraqi people,"Ayatollah Khamenei said.

State TV quoted Mr. Maliki as saying instability was Iraq's biggest challenge and that he blamed the violence mainly on supporters of Saddam's old regime.

No public mention was made of outside meddling in Iraqi affairs. In Baghdad, however, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Mr. Maliki underlined that Iraq wants good relations with Iran but also that "we don't want interference in our internal affairs."

Mr. Dabbagh suggested that money was flowing to groups in Iraq from elements in Iran, which he did not identify.

Some believe that a number of Shiite parties with militias accused of involvement in sectarian killings have support from groups in Iran, a predominantly Shiite nation. Those parties are also allied to Mr. Maliki's government, which has struggled to rein in the militias.

"There is interference coming from neighboring countries, and it has negative implications for the situation in Iraq," Mr. Dabbagh told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from Baghdad. "We want to bar financing for certain parties."

"Iran has shown it will help, and we want to see implementation of that," he added.

The comments reflect the complex relationship between Iran and Iraq, which is backed by the America — Tehran's top enemy.Mr. Maliki's Dawa Party is closely allied with Iran as are other Shiite parties in his government, and Mr. Maliki lived in Iran for part of his long exile during Saddam's rule.