Al-Jazeera TV Reports US Commander's Remarks on Iranian Ambassador in Iraq

Oct 08, 05:10 AM

Current Headlines: Text of report by Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 7 October

[Announcer-read report over video]

David Petraeus, commander of the US forces in Iraq, has said that Iranian Ambassador in Iraq Hasan Kazemi-Qomi is a member of the Al- Quds Force, which is affiliated with the Iranian Revolution Guard. Petraeus, who was speaking at a US military base in a border area, accused Iran of providing militias that attack the US forces in Iraq with weapons which he described as advanced.

[Begin recording of report by Al-Jazeera reporter Amir al- Kubaysi] Hasan Kazemi-Qomi is Iran's number one man in Iraq. Months ago, he sat with the US ambassador [Ryan Croker] and held talks with him in his capacity as a politician. At that time, there were mutual concerns that were discussed twice; namely the security concerns and interference. However, the two meetings did not bring the two sides closer, but made things worse. Now, the picture has changed, and the talks included politics and security.

In an area close to the Iranian borders, David Petraeus, commander of the US forces in Iraq, levelled many accusations against Iran and its diplomats in Iraq. According to Petraeus, the status of the Iranian ambassador changed from a diplomat to a military man, who belongs to what America describes as the terrorist Iranian military institution; namely Al-Quds Corps, which is always accused of providing weapons to armed groups in Iraq. The most important type of these weapons is the anti-armoured vehicle explosive charges, which caused 70 per cent of the US losses. The file is still hot as the Americans have, as they say, documents that prove beyond any shadow of doubt that Iran killed US soldiers, and even killed whom Petraeus described as governors of some Iraqi city in southern Iraq.

America has soldiers in Iraq whom it will be worried about in case it takes any action against Iran. For its part, Iran is capable of easily reaching deep inside Iraq, and is close to the political and security entities that rule Iraq today. [End recording] [Archival footage of Petraeus and the Iranian ambassador in Baghdad speaking]

Originally published by Al-Jazeera TV, Doha, in Arabic 1808 7 Oct 07.

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