The tension between both the Bush and Blair administrations and Tehran has been a constant theme throughout the conflict in Iraq. From the moment Bush uttered the now legendary phrase "the axis of evil" the relationship between Tehran and the west has been very tense. Even though the Iranian's cooperated in the pre war build up, both allowing the Iraqi National Congress to establish a legitimate presence in the Iraqi arena, as well as allowing American elements to operate within its borders, the tension created by Bush's speech was bound to escalate at some time. This seems to currently be the case in the latest exchange between 10 Downing Street and Tehran.
First a bit of background on the flare up.
The British have recently claimed that the Iranians have backed a network of insurgents operating in southern Iraq led by Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani.
According to U.S. military-intelligence
al-Sheibani heads a network of insurgents created by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps with the express purpose of committing violence against U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. Over the past eight months, his group has introduced a new breed of roadside bomb more lethal than any seen before; based on a design from the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, the weapon employs "shaped" explosive charges that can punch through a battle tank's armor like a fist through the wall. According to the document, the U.S. believes al-Sheibani's team consists of 280 members, divided into 17 bomb making teams and death squads. The U.S. believes they train in Lebanon, in Baghdad's predominantly Shi'ite Sadr City district and "in another country" and have detonated at least 37 bombs against U.S. forces this year in Baghdad alone.
Besides supporting al-Sheibani the British have also claimed that the Iranians have been supporting camps within in Iran and Lebanon, and that there was "some evidence" that there are camps in Syria.
The source said that the technology had been "proliferating", leading to a sharp rise in attacks on British troops which are running at three a week. Several large arms caches, believed to be for attacks during the impending referendum, have been found in southern Iraq. In the past eight days British, US and Iraqi forces have found more than 50 rockets, 10 mortars and 64 landmines, as well as the infra-red devices. The devices were found on Route Tampa, the main feeder route for British and American troops to Meysan, a province where coalition forces have faced periodic bouts of intense attacks.
The Iranians countered Britain's recent accusations by blaming the British for a bombing in the town of Ahvaz, located in the oil rich province of Khuzestan in the southwest part of Iran populated predominately by the Arab minority.
The Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, told state television that, that Britain was involved in a double bomb attack last week that killed six people and injured more than 100 in the restive southwestern city of Ahvaz saying that,
"Information shows that Britain is seeking to create insecurity in our country by interfering in our internal affairs," he added, warning that the consequences "could be worrying for the British."
Are the Iranian accusations directed at the British because of what they see as the British bullying them over their involvement in developing technology to create nuclear arms? The British seem to think so. However, Blair's proof of Iran's involvement in Southern Iraq is smeared in lies and was obviously disseminated under the auspicious that the general public doesn't know how to use an internet search engine. Well Mr. Blair I'm sorry some of us do.
Mahan Abedin, in the Asia times methodically took apart Blair's accusations fabulously.
First, Abedin claimed that the way that Blair announced the accusations to the world was a bit odd.
They were first disclosed by an "anonymous" senior official to a group of correspondents in London on October 5. The "anonymous" official claimed, in no uncertain terms, that Iran was helping to kill British troops by providing bomb technology to Shi'ite insurgents, possibly through the Lebanese Hezbollah. But the very next day, Prime Minister Tony Blair was more diplomatic about Iranian complicity, claiming that the evidence led either to Iran or its Lebanese militant allies Hezbollah, but adding, "We can't be sure of this." There was also disquiet in the British military establishment, with the Guardian reporting on October 6, "Defense sources suggested that blaming the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps for supplying the explosives technology was going too far."
Second, Abedin claims that bringing the Lebanese Hezbollah into the equation simply makes no sense.
Iran has direct access to southern Iraq and, moreover, has many official representatives (not to mention hundreds of covert operatives) in the Basra area alone. Given this impressive presence, it is difficult to see why the Iranians would want to involve a Lebanese political party/militia in their dealings with Shi'ite forces in the south of Iraq. The British, it seems, have unwisely copied Israeli disinformation methodology. Indeed, whenever Israel levels an extraordinary allegation against Iran, it almost invariably involves the Lebanese Hezbollah.
Third, Abedin claimed that the accusation that "rogue" elements in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are behind the transfer of technology seriously undermines the British government's position.
Either the British know very little about Iranian security policy or they are deliberately employing a deceptive argument. The fact is that there are no "rogue" elements in the IRGC. The IRGC is, first and foremost, an ideological military organization with its own independent command, comprised of ground, naval and air forces. This makes Iran the only country in the world to operate two completely independent military structures (ie, the regular military and the IRGC). Moreover, aside from being a military organization, the IRGC has security/intelligence capabilities and other civilian infrastructure. For instance, the best specialized medical clinics in Iran (particularly those pertaining to dentistry and laser eye surgery) are owned and operated by the IRGC. Overall, the IRGC directly employs up to 350,000 personnel, 120,000 of whom serve in its ground, naval and air forces. The IRGC is a vast organization, and as such it is subject to intense discipline. The idea that "rogue" elements within this organization are actively engaged in undermining Iranian foreign policy is simply a non-starter. These deceptive arguments are usually deployed to buttress unsubstantiated accusations against the Islamic republic.
Last, Abedin claimed the transfer of bomb technology makes no sense from a technical perspective.
The technology in question (which involves specially shaped charges capable of penetrating armor) is up to 50 years old and there is nothing particularly "Iranian" about it. It has been used in a variety of conflicts, notably in Sri Lanka, where it has been deployed by the Tamil Tigers. While it is true that the Lebanese Hezbollah deployed these types of devices against the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in southern Lebanon in the 1990s, it is equally true that the technology was widely known to the Istikhbarat, the former Iraqi military intelligence service. In fact, the Istikhbarat closely tracked Iran's military relationship with Hezbollah, and had even sent a specialized team to Lebanon in 1995 to study Hezbollah tactics against the IDF. This expertise is being widely used by Iraqi Arab Sunni insurgents (who are mostly led by former Istikhbarat and Mukhabarat officers) against US forces in the western, central, north-central and northern regions of Iraq. Given that this technology is widely available to and exploited by the Arab Sunni guerrilla movement, there is no reason why it should not travel further south to benefit the emerging Shi'ite insurgency against the British presence. In any case, the circuitous route through which this old and well-known technology is supposed to have been transferred (ie from Iran to Hezbollah and then to the Iraqi Shi'ites) is implausible, if not downright spurious.
It's obvious now that the British have intentionally tried to deceive the world and the Iranians responded by placing the blame on them for the Ahvan bombings, leaving us asking why? Why did the British lie? The answer is obvious. They are faced with a conundrum. The British have miscalculated the outcome of the war in Iraq, thus severely undermining their power within the European Union. In order to save face within the E.U. the British have been trying to take on a prominate role in confronting and keeping the heat on the Iranians over their role in producing nuclear weapons. While trying to save face within the E.U. the British are also forced with trying to support the Bush administrations foreign policy agenda. Because of this conundrum the British have reverted back to what seems to be the modus operandi of 10 Downing St. when trying to legitimize their agenda, relaying on poorly constructed lies. I wonder when Blair will finally wake up and realize that no matter how much he lies or kisses up to his buddies across the Atlantic, the Bush administrations will always view Britain as an easily sacrificed pawn in their ongoing game of pax-American.