An Iraqi campaign focussing on alleged Iranian interference in the country casts a shadow over the future of Iranian-Iraqi relations. Rasha Saad reports Iran has warned on Sunday that the interim Iraqi government must ensure the safety of Fereydun Jahani, an Iranian diplomat missing since 4 August. " We hold the interim government responsible for the physical well-being of Jahani and we expect them to employ all means possible to achieve his release," Hamzid Reza, Foreign Ministry spokesman, said. Iranian state television had earlier reported that the group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq had threatened to "punish" Jahani unless Tehran released, within 48 hours, 500 prisoners the group claims the Islamic republic has held since its 1980-88 war with Iraq. The Islamic Army in Iraq claimed a week ago to be holding Jahani but until Sunday had made no demands. Last week the group made a statement to the effect that it had detained Jahani for allegedly "stirring sectarian strife and for activities outside his diplomatic duties". Jahani disappeared as he was travelling to the central Iraqi city of Karbala to open an Iranian consulate following an agreement to this end with the Iraqi interim government. Up until now, kidnappings in Iraq have targeted nationals from countries who have troops or economic interests in Iraq. In that sense the seizure of the Iranian diplomat is seen as a departure from this pattern. Moreover, its timing coincided with an apparent deterioration in relations between the two old foes during the past month over alleged Iranian interferences in Iraq. News of the abduction came a day after a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said that Iraqi authorities had arrested four Iranian intelligence officers on suspicion of operating espionage and sabotage operations out of a Baghdad base. Iran said it was summoning Iraq's top diplomat in Tehran to discuss the claims. An Iraqi police spokesperson in Karbala also said that 1,200 Iranians had been arrested there in the last 10 days. He said most had been deported to Iran, but 32 had been detained for questioning. Tens of thousands of Iranians have flocked to the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf on pilgrimage since US-led occupation forces toppled Saddam Hussein last year. Tensions between Iraq and Iran have increased since Iraqi Defence Minister Hazem Al-Shaalan labeled Iran "enemy number one for the Iraqis", accusing the Islamic republic of "attempting to sabotage the demographic structure of Iraq and to denaturalise its national identity". The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, said Iraqi officials should "stop creating a bad atmosphere" between Iran and Iraq. In an interview published in The Washington Post earlier this month, Al-Shaalan said that he had seen "clear interference in Iraqi issues by Iran" and accused Tehran of taking over some Iraqi border posts and sending spies and saboteurs into Iraq. He also alleged that Tehran was working "to kill democracy" in his country. Al- Shaalan added that Iran had provided assistance to former fighters in Afghanistan to enter Iraq and that Iran was supporting "terrorism and bringing enemies into Iraq". Later, Al-Shaalan also demanded that Tehran immediately return Iraqi planes entrusted to Iran ahead of the 1991 Gulf War. "The 130 planes should be given back to Iraq now," Al-Shaalan said. Tehran has insisted that it was holding only 22 Iraqi planes and that it was ready to return them if asked by the United Nations. Tehran rejected Al-Shaalan's allegations of interference, describing his statements as "contrary to the official message we get from Baghdad". Indeed, Al-Shaalan's statements were believed to reflect a lack of unity among members of the Iraqi government. Al-Shaalan's fiery declaration of Iran being Iraq's number one enemy caused controversy among Iraqi officials who were surprised at his reaction. While some officials tried to tone down its effect, others refused to comment. Immediately after Al-Shaalan's comments, Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was quick to state that Iraq maintained "friendly relations" with Iran and stressed that it was "in the interest of Iraq and Iran that bilateral relations be balanced, healthy and positive". Allawi, however, did not dismiss Al-Shaalan's accusations totally. He advised neighbouring Iran not to interfere in Iraq's affairs. "I would presume that our brothers in Iran are wise and thoughtful enough not to get bogged down in Iraq's problems and further complicate the situation," Allawi said. Despite the shock created as a result of Al- Shaalan's words, analysts believe that he simply stated what other politicians believe to be the truth but are wary of saying in public. Iran, the largest Shia state in the world, has a special interest in Iraq, where Shia Muslims make up more than 60 per cent of the population. Iraq, on the other hand, is the historical center of the Shia sect, and the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala are destinations for Iranian pilgrims. Iraqi officials believe it would be easy for Iranian agents to infiltrate groups of pilgrims. The Iraqis are aware that Iran -- which is concerned about its difficult geopolitical situation, with US troops positioned along its borders with both Iraq and Afghanistan -- is eager to influence the situation in Iraq. Iran has many ways of doing this, the most effective of which would be utilising exiled Iraqis who have spent many years in Iran. Several Iraqi officials have expressed concerns about the loyalty of these former émigrés. Iraqi officials are believed to be very concerned that thousands of Iraqis, or half- Iraqis, who lived in Iran and were cooperating with Iranian intelligence during Saddam's rule, have returned to Iraq. More importantly, the militias of some Iraqi political parties were trained with Iranian assistance. When the fiery Shia leader Moqtada Al-Sadr initiated his uprising against US occupation in April, Iran was said to be his number one supporter. And when Iran sent an official delegation whose mission was allegedly to mediate with Al- Sadr, former Civil Administrator L Paul Bremer refused to allow the meeting to go ahead. The day after the arrival of the Iranian delegation, Khalil Naimi, the first secretary at Iran's embassy in Baghdad, was assassinated in what was a clear message to the Iranians not to interfere in Iraqi internal affairs. Iran has consistently denied charges of supporting anti-US insurgents in Iraq. Hitting back, Iran accused the US itself of sparking inter- ethnic conflict. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month voiced suspicion that US and Israeli "agents" were behind the wave of kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq. Indeed, the recent Iraqi campaign against Iran is also seen in the context of new US pressure on Iran. The US recognises that Iran has a considerable influence on the Shia majority in Iraq and is thus pressing the Islamic republic to use that influence for the benefit of US interests. According to observers, Iran's rejection of some US demands has led Washington to put pressure on Iran. One way of doing this is to cite Iran's questionable nuclear record and to threaten to bring the matter before the UN Security Council with possible sanctions following. US officials have repeatedly accused both Syria and Iran -- which oppose the continued occupation of Iraq by foreign troops -- of failing to prevent infiltration of foreign agents into Iraq and of supporting anti-coalition insurgents inside the country. With Syria obviously adopting a clearer and more positive position after reaching several agreements with Iraqi officials to step up security along common borders and prevent infiltration, observers believe the only problem now is the "taming" of the Iranian regime. Any improvement in Iranian-American relations, therefore, depends mainly on the improvement of the Iraq situation. According to observers, the timing of Al- Shaalan's statements to coincide with the US decision to grant protection to members of the Mujahidin Khalq Organisation (MKO) in Iraq under the Geneva Conventions is proof of this. The MKO is the Iranian government's largest military opposition group, with its main base at Camp Ashraf, Iraq. The group, ironically, is still listed as a terrorist organisation by the US government and its base was bombed by the US military in April 2003. Washington and Tehran have had extensive secret contact since the 9/11 attacks in the US, with the common goal of destroying Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. But despite many points of contact, nothing has come of the meetings and relations between the two countries have failed to improve. Washington Post columnist David Ignatius attributed this failure partly to the Bush administration, which was internally divided over the correct course of action to take. The interesting aspect of this is that an anti-terrorist deal was hatched a year ago, one which should have been acceptable to both sides: Iran would hand over some senior Al-Qaeda operatives being held in Iranian custody while the US would transfer to Iran some detained members of the Iraqi-backed MKO. Ignatius reports, "the State Department is said to have favoured such a deal, but the Pentagon balked, arguing that the mujahidin might be useful in fomenting regime change in Tehran." However, despite lingering suspicions on both sides of the Iran-Iraq frontier, a high-ranking delegation from the Iraqi interim government arrived in Tehran last week to attend a conference on the possibilities for economic cooperation between Iran and Iraq. Both sides agreed to expand bilateral cooperation in various economic fields. Iraqi Economic Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said he believed the conference would prepare the ground for the restoration of Tehran-Baghdad ties and help revive friendly relations between the two countries. Time will tell if this will actually happen.
