US forces raid Iran's consulate in Iraq, arrest 5

1/11/07

Baghdad, Jan 11, IRNA - US forces raided the Iranian consulate in the Iraqi northern city of Erbil and arrested five of its staff, it was announced Thursday. After disarming the consulate's guards and breaking open its gate, the US troops entered the consulate building, reliable sources told IRNA this morning.

The US forces stormed the building at about 5 am (local time), arrested its five staff members and confiscated computers and documents, the sources added.

The Islamic Republic of Iran set up its consulate in Erbil in response to the official request of the government in this Kurdish region in order to facilitate traffic of the two countries' nationals.

Erbil is a city in the Kurdish-controlled north of Iraq, 350 kilometers (220 miles) from Baghdad.

The Iranian embassy in Baghdad sent a letter to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry this morning protesting the US' illegal move.

In its protest letter, the Iranian embassy called on the Iraqi government to help obtain the immediate release of its five detained staff.

US occupying forces had previously detained two Iranian diplomats entering Baghdad at the official invitation of the Iraqi president.

Iran's FM spokesman says US wants to continue the occupation of Iraq

Tehran, Jan 11, IRNA - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini on Thursday said US President George W Bush's new strategy for Iraq announced Wednesday was intended to continue the US occupation of that country.

Condemning the new strategy, he said Bush's decision to increase the number of its troops in Iraq comes as "an unpleasant present to the American people for the new Christian year."

Bush's decision to increase the number of US military troops in Iraq will only result in further insecurity and tension in that occupied country, he said, adding that an increase in troops will not solve the Iraqi problem.

Alluding to Bush's accusations of Iranian and Syrian interference in Iraq's domestic affairs, the spokesman said Washington was seeking pretexts for its failed policies in the country.

He said an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq would be the only way of solving the US' numerous problems in that country.

He said Washington's decision to deploy Patriot missiles over Iraq is intended to bolster its support for the Zionist regime purportedly to protect the Islamic state. "We and all world Muslims condemn such a move," Hosseini added.

He further criticized the appointment of a coordinator for Iraqi affairs by Bush as an indication of Washington's open interference in Iraqi domestic affairs.

In other developments, US forces raided the Iranian consulate in the Iraqi northern city of Erbil, arrested its five staff members and confiscated computers and documents early Thursday morning.

Erbil, a main city in the Kurdish-controlled north of Iraq, is 350 kilometers (220 miles) from Baghdad.

The Iranian embassy in Baghdad has sent a letter of protest to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry for the illegal move.

It has called on the Iraqi government to help obtain the immediate release of its five detained staff.

US troops had no legal right to enter Iran's consulate: Iraqi security official

Baghdad, Jan 11, IRNA- An Iraqi Kurdish security official said Thursday that US forces who raided the Iranian consulate in the Iraqi northern city of Erbil had no right to conduct the raid.

Talking to IRNA on condition of anonymity, he said the government of Iraqi Kurdistan is responsible for maintaining security in the entire region.

The government of Iraqi Kurdistan was in no way informed of the storming of the Iranian consulate by US forces, he said, adding that the region's security forces were cognizant of the legal activities of the Iranian consulate.

The Islamic Republic of Iran set up its consulate in Erbil upon the request of the province's governor-general to facilate exchanges of the two countries' nationals two year ago and was under the supervision of the government of this Kurdish region, the the official added.

Kurdish security forces are responsible for guarding the Iranian consulate, he said, adding that the US forces disarmed the Kurdish guards of the consulate and used force to enter the building.

US forces stormed the consulate at about 5 am (local time), arrested its five staff members and confiscated computers and documents, reliable sources said.

Erbil, a city in the Kurdish-controlled north of Iraq, is 350 kilometers (220 miles) from Baghdad.

There is still no news about the whereabouts of the Iranian consulate staffers who were forcibly taken by the US forces after their raid.

The Iranian embassy in Baghdad has sent a letter to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry protesting the US' illegal move.

In its protest letter, the Iranian embassy called on the Iraqi government to help obtain the immediate release of its five detained staff.

US occupying forces had previously detained two Iranian diplomats entering Baghdad at the official invitation of the Iraqi president.

Iraq calls for best relations with Iran, Syria, US

Baghdad, Jan 11, IRNA- Spokesman for the Iraqi government, Ali al-Dabagh on Thursday declared his country's call for most favorable relations with Iran, Syria and the US.

Speaking to reporters, he said that Iraq's ties with Iran and Syria will never be affected by Iraq-US relations and the ongoing tensions observed in the US relations with Syria and Iran.

Meanwhile, he said that the instability in Iraq is related to tensions in the US relations with some regional states, adding that Iraq is paying for such tension between its neighboring countries and the US.

The Iraqi official added that his country will do its best to improve the US relations with Iran as well as Syria and converge their views.

Al-Dabagh said, "The Iraqi government hopes that none of the neighboring states will interfere in Iraq's internal affairs, just as Iraq avoids such interference."

Concerning the new strategy of President George W. Bush on Iraq, he said that it underlines ceding the responsibility for the security to Iraqi forces, adding that Iraq welcomes such a strategy by the US.

Turning to the rotating tour of the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the Middle East as one serving the interests of Washington, he said, "She will undoubtedly remind the regional states that the security of the region is interconnected with that of Iraq.

"The US secretary of state will call on the regional countries to help the Iraqi government promote stability and security."