Iraq to Stop Iran Flights over Suspicions of Syria Arms
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Iraq is determined to stop and search flights from Iran over its territory which are suspected of carrying weapons to Syria, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said in comments reported on Sunday.
"We have assured U.S. officials that the Iraqi government is determined to land (Iranian) flights and carry out random searches," Zebari said, quoted by the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat.
The Iraqi minister added that his government had told Tehran "to stop the flights and stop arming or financing the (Syrian regime) or any other party to the conflict."
Zebari said Iraq would not "not accept being a transit point or passage way for... arming or financing" the Syrian conflict.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pushed Baghdad to deliver on pledges to stop such flights during a meeting with Iraqi Vice President Kudayr al-Khuzaie.
Clinton reported "some encouraging first steps," citing an incident in which Iraqi authorities stopped a North Korean flight from crossing its air space while on its way to Syria over suspicions it was carrying arms and advisers.
Zebari said the flights first started in March and were stopped after the Iraqis called on the Iranians to do so. By late July, however, the flights resumed.
"They (the Iranians) said they were not carrying weapons or ammunition but pilgrims, visitors and other things," said Zebari, adding that "just to be sure, we will land these planes."
Washington has been calling on Baghdad to ensure that all Iranian planes flying over its air space are ordered to land and checked for weapons.
Tehran has told Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki the planes are carrying humanitarian aid to Syria, where the opposition has been fighting since last year to oust President Bashar Assad.
But many in the U.S. government suspect the planes are ferrying military equipment to the Assad regime.
30 September 2012, 21:09
21
this is the single more relevant nwes from iraq concerning Syria. It is quite interesting that Iraq is reassuring the US (not ban ki moon, not brahimi, not the Arab League: the US) about their intentions.
after 14 yrs of sanctions, after 100.000 iraqi (and 4800 american) lives wasted in a war that could and should have been avoided, after being forced to give their natural resources to the american oil companies, after being plagued by systematic bombing of the terrorists, iraq had also to be HUMILIATED now, being obliged to declare publicly that they enforce not international law, not humanitarian or pacifist principles, not the arab league nor the united nations appeals. Nothing but the will of the colonial power.
30 September 2012, 21:49
01
And these so called 'pilgrims' are nothing more than shabiha helping the assad regime. Who the hell goes on a pilgrimage in a country torn by civil war?
01 October 2012, 07:53
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samian, in case you are Lebanese, I need to tell you that there is a high probability that you are wrong, and that you are disrespecting the human tragedy of the your kidnapped fellow citizens. Actually the Shia consider a duty to travel to the holy shrines, and a mark of merit doing so under threat. It has always been so, and it is so today. Besides, the kidnapped pilgrims were travelling with their families and many of them are elderly. The lunatic militiamen who took them in hostage said many things about them, even that four of them were "completely dead" after an aerial bombing, but never said that they found weapons on the bus. So, all evidence are against your hurried deduction, and your cheap accusations. One thing is saying that it was reckless to take such risk, quite another accusing them to be shabbiha. Show some respect, your fellow citizens have been kidnapped by criminals, and families are suffering.
01 October 2012, 12:39
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Patriot, you are offensive as always, but this time greatly mistaken. In 2009, the declared profit for foreign oil companies in iraq, after recovering all costs INCLUDING capital costs (which means exorbitant profits for US contractors), was 10 billion USD a year. Guess what? Exxon has the biggest share (850 mln USD a year) and BP the third largest (520 mln USD). BP is the largest oil company in the US after the merge with AMOCO (one of the main reasons for the US-UK colonial alliance in inflicting pain to Middle East). Since 2009, the oil production in Iraq has been ever increasing, taking over Iran's production. check the figures below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Iraq#2009_Oil_services_contracts
01 October 2012, 12:47
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sorry, typo, BP is the second largest oil company in the US.
Arzak-ya-libnan, you seem so patriotic in name, and so indifferent when your fellow lebanese citizens from another sect are taken prisoners by outlaws in Syria. You take all possible defense of the kidnappers against your fellow Lebanese citizens, who have been separated from their families for almost 5 months. you even try to turn it into politics and pushing up the sectarian divide. honestly, this is quite telling about your sense of homeland.
01 October 2012, 13:49
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naharnet, why my previous post has been deleted? I was giving facts on oil production in Iraq. This is very anti-democratic.
