Crossfire War – Iran Denies Evidence Presented by Iraq Delegation

Crossfire War – West Asia – North – Northeast Africa Theatre: Tehran – Riyadh – Tripoli – Khartoum – El Arish – Ramallah – Gaza – Beirut – Damascus – Baghdad/London – Washington – Jerusalem – Cairo – Amman – Paris – Rome; Iraq Delegation Presents US Supplied Evidence to Tehran – Officially Iran Unresponsive – US Forces Advance Deeper Into Sadr City – Russian Troops in Abkhazia Now Deployed in Bases

Night Watch: TEHRAN – “They presented a list of names, training camps and cells linked to Iran. The Iranians did not confirm or admit anything. They claim they are not intervening in Iraq and they feel they are being unfairly blamed for everything going on in Iraq.” That was a statement yesterday from Haidar al-Ibadi, a member of Iraq’s Parliament in contact with the Iraq delegation in Tehran presenting the evidence, supplied by Washington, of Iran’s direct involvement in supporting Sunni-Shia mitias in Iraq. He continued, “The delegation also carried evidence of the smuggling of weapons and training of individuals in Iran to enter into Iraq.” The Gulf-Times/Reuters report the evidence included photographs of weapons with Iranian markings and statements from detained militants. The delegation was also told to say it had proof Mahdi Army leaders escaped to Iran when the Iraq Army and eventually the U. S. re-entered the city after fighting erupted there in late March. [GULFTIMES]

A senior U. S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity indicated Washington had to first convince the Baghdad government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Tehran’s active involvement and I am not surprised since al-Maliki has great relations with Iran what Tehran would call a perfect understanding, that London-Washington’s presence and influence is increasingly momentary and that Iran and regional governments can offer more genuine support. But when the fighting erupted in Basra and with the new barrages of rockets and mortars of the International Green Zone the U. S. forced al-Maliki to not only admit Iran’s role but in a sense Washington put a gun to Baghdad’s head to send this delegation. And they know this will lead to direct war between Washington/Tehran. Next in the procedure is the issuing of demands and ultimatums by Baghdad then Washington for Iran to end its support, demands and ultimatums Tehran will of course reject with combative rhetoric and perhaps even pre-emptive cruise missile attacks.

Sadr City – In the meantime the Jerusalem Post/AP report after five weeks of fighting the U. S. is being drawn into urban combat deeper within Sadr City and its population of 2.5 million, the main base of the Iranian supplied Mahdi Army. As I have been mentioning I suspect Tehran is having the Iraq Army, which Washington admits is heavily infiltrated by members of the Mahdi Army, to lure Washington into military traps. More than 100 people have been injured in the latest fighting Friday-Saturday and not just in Sadr City, but in the adjacent Ubaydi district and other parts of the capital. [JPOST]

Beirut – The Jerusalem Post/AP report Walid Jumblatt, the leader of the Druze community in Lebanon and a major figure in the pro-West bloc of Lebanon’s Parliament is now calling for the expulsion of Iran’s Ambassador and the baning of all Iranian flights into Lebanon. “I am not afraid at all but at the same time I had to confirm the information before people walk in my funeral or walk in the funeral of Saad Hariri or others because it seems they are preparing for something. Iranian flights to Beirut should be stopped because Iranian planes might be bringing in money and military equipment. The Iranian Ambassador should be expelled from Lebanon.” It was Walid Jumblatt who caused enormous controversy with his speech in early February that was a virtual declaration of war on Hezbollah in which he even stated his militia will take away Hezbollah’s missiles. Now he is accusing Hezbollah of monitoring the traffic of politician’s executive jets with hidden cameras at the airport possibly to assassinate them. There is some truth to his accusations as Hezbollah has benefited from Tehran’s campaign of assassination in Lebanon for the past few years and it is no secret Tehran has many avenues when it comes to resupplying and preparing Hezbollah for their entry into the war against Jerusalem this year. [JPOST]

Hezbollah responded to these latest charges by saying they “translate his nightmares and nervous tension into a media play that includes targeting people and planes in what is close to imagination or horror movies. This accusation of the resistance movements in the Arab world, including Hezbollah, makes him a propagandist who repeats George Bush’s claims and State Department reports.”

Kodori Gorge – RIA reports Russian troops that have arrived in Abkhazia are now taking up positions in bases in the disputed territory, what is termed the Conflict Zone between Abkhazia/Georgia in the South Caucasus a strategic crossroads of energy pipelines. This is obviously a prelude to Russia’s attack on the Georgian military units in the gorge since Moscow has always supported not only Abkhazia, on the Black Sea, but also South Ossetia’s secession from Georgia at the end of the Cold War in 1990. Industrial services in the West, led by Berlin, have always supported Russia’s control of the region though publicly governments in the West pretend to support Georgia to masque their real policies. But the war in this theatre is not just between Russia and Georgia since the Georgian government in Tbilisi has accepted offers of support from Ankara-Tehran as Turkey-Iran hope that somehow they can prevent Moscow and the West from controlling the oil and gas resources exclusively. [RIA]

Willard Payne is an international affairs analyst who specializes in International Relations. A graduate of Western Illinois University with a concentration in East-West Trade and East-West Industrial Cooperation, he has been providing incisive analysis to NewsBlaze. He is the author of Imagery: The Day Before.