Iran's Foreign Minister: Relations with Iraq in danger if diplomats detained by the U.S. are not freed

Tehran, NU Online
Iran’s foreign minister warned that cooperation with Iraq could deteriorate if five Iranian diplomats detained by U.S. troops in Iraq are not set free.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran is seriously pursuing the fate of the detained diplomats and urged Iraq to do the same, according to Iran’s state broadcasting company’s Web site.<>

“If their efforts do not yield results, it will undermine Iran’s aid to Iraq,” the report quoted Mottaki as saying Sunday.

The United States detained five Iranians in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil in January and refused to release them or allow Iranian officials a chance to visit the men.

Mottaki also criticized the U.N. Security Council for not responding to a letter he said Iran sent it to protest the U.S. detention.

“The U.N. Security Council has refused to show appropriate action in cases like the diplomats’ abductions although it has repeatedly interfered in cases not related to its duties under pressure from major powers,” the Web site quoted Mottaki as saying.

Iraq, which like Iran is majority Shiite, has found itself in a difficult position since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, trying to maintain good relations with its neighbor — which it fought a war against for much of the 1980s — while not angering the Americans.

Their relations grew even more complicated last month when Iran captured a British navy crew, holding it captive for nearly two weeks. Britain, which has more than 7,000 troops in southern Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition, patrols the Iraqi coastline in the Gulf. Iran said the British crew was in its waters, but Britain and
Iraq insisted the capture took place in Iraqi territory.

In another sign of strained relations Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the country had no plans to meet with U.S. officials on the sidelines of the upcoming conference on Iraq, Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported.

The U.S. has accused Iran of providing money and weapons to Shiite militias in Iraq, while Iran has argued that the presence of U.S. troops is destabilizing the country. U.S. officials have not commented on potential contact with Iran at the upcoming conference. (ap/dar)