Mark Tran and agencies Monday September 24, 2007 Guardian Unlimited |
Iraqi Kurds today felt the squeeze from tensions between the US and Iran, as Tehran closed its border with the north of Iraq after US troops arrested an Iranian.
"Iran is setting up pressure in a bid to release its citizens detained by American (forces)," the Kurdistan trade minister, Mohammed Raouf, told Reuters.
US forces last week said they had arrested an Iranian they accused of smuggling roadside bombs into Iraq and training foreign fighters. The man was arrested in a raid by American soldiers on a hotel in Sulaimaniya, 160 miles north-east of Baghdad.
The US alleged that the man was a member of the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Iranian and Iraqi officials said the man was a member of a trade delegation.
The US is still holding five Iranians in the Kurdish city of Irbil after their arrest earlier this year. By closing its borders, Iran is putting economic pressure on the Kurdish regional government, a close ally of the US.
Mr Raouf complained that the move would cost the Kurdish authorities about $1m (£500,000) dollars a day. "Closing the borders by Iran will create a spike in prices of imported commodities, like kerosene and foodstuffs," he said.
Mr Raouf also criticised Iran for closing the border during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, when prices were already higher.
Jamal Abdullah, a spokesman for the Kurdish government, told the Associated Press that Iran's move "will have a bad effect on the economic situation of the Kurdish government and will hurt the civilians as well".
"We are paying the price of what the Americans have done by arresting the Iranian."
The US has accused Iran of supporting Shia extremists as they target American troops in Iraq. In the latest allegations, a US military spokesman, Rear Admiral Mark Fox, said yesterday that Iran had smuggled advanced weapons into Iraq for use against American troops, including the Misagh 1, a portable surface-to-air missile that uses an infrared guidance system.
Iran has rejected US allegations that it is smuggling weapons to Shia militias in Iraq - a denial that the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reiterated in an interview aired yesterday on the CBS programme, 60 Minutes.
"We don't need to do that. We are very much opposed to war and insecurity," said Mr Ahmadinejad, who arrived in New York yesterday for the UN general assembly. "The insecurity in Iraq is detrimental to our interests."
Tensions between Iran and the US have aroused concern among Iraqi officials - many of whom are members of political parties with close ties to Tehran.
The Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, has also protested against the latest US arrest. Mr Talabani demanded the Iranian's release, warning the arrest could affect relations between the two neighbours.
"Iran is setting up pressure in a bid to release its citizens detained by American (forces)," the Kurdistan trade minister, Mohammed Raouf, told Reuters.
US forces last week said they had arrested an Iranian they accused of smuggling roadside bombs into Iraq and training foreign fighters. The man was arrested in a raid by American soldiers on a hotel in Sulaimaniya, 160 miles north-east of Baghdad.
The US alleged that the man was a member of the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Iranian and Iraqi officials said the man was a member of a trade delegation.
The US is still holding five Iranians in the Kurdish city of Irbil after their arrest earlier this year. By closing its borders, Iran is putting economic pressure on the Kurdish regional government, a close ally of the US.
Mr Raouf complained that the move would cost the Kurdish authorities about $1m (£500,000) dollars a day. "Closing the borders by Iran will create a spike in prices of imported commodities, like kerosene and foodstuffs," he said.
Mr Raouf also criticised Iran for closing the border during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, when prices were already higher.
Jamal Abdullah, a spokesman for the Kurdish government, told the Associated Press that Iran's move "will have a bad effect on the economic situation of the Kurdish government and will hurt the civilians as well".
"We are paying the price of what the Americans have done by arresting the Iranian."
The US has accused Iran of supporting Shia extremists as they target American troops in Iraq. In the latest allegations, a US military spokesman, Rear Admiral Mark Fox, said yesterday that Iran had smuggled advanced weapons into Iraq for use against American troops, including the Misagh 1, a portable surface-to-air missile that uses an infrared guidance system.
Iran has rejected US allegations that it is smuggling weapons to Shia militias in Iraq - a denial that the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reiterated in an interview aired yesterday on the CBS programme, 60 Minutes.
"We don't need to do that. We are very much opposed to war and insecurity," said Mr Ahmadinejad, who arrived in New York yesterday for the UN general assembly. "The insecurity in Iraq is detrimental to our interests."
Tensions between Iran and the US have aroused concern among Iraqi officials - many of whom are members of political parties with close ties to Tehran.
The Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, has also protested against the latest US arrest. Mr Talabani demanded the Iranian's release, warning the arrest could affect relations between the two neighbours.
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