U.S. military frees 9 Iranians held in Iraq
The U.S. military said on Friday it had released nine Iranians held in Iraq, including two it accused of links to Iran`s elite Qods Force, signaling a possible change in tone between the bitter rivals.
The two were among five Iranians captured in the northern city of Arbil in January on suspicion of arming and funding Shi`ite militias, in an incident that sharpened tensions between Iraq and Iran as well as between Washington and Tehran.
"All nine individuals were determined to no longer pose a security risk and to be of no continued intelligence value," the U.S. military said in a statement.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates denied a link between the announcement and a drop in attacks using roadside bombs, including deadly explosively formed penetrators (EFPs), which the United States accuses Iran of supplying to Shi`ite militias.
"There`s no connection between the release and the apparent decline in EFP casualties," Gates told reporters on his way back to Washington from a visit to Japan.
"I continue to believe that it`s too early to tell whether there really has been a decrease in Iranian supply of EFPs and other weapons into Iraq," he said.
Iran rejects the charge of supplying weaponry and blames the violence in Iraq, in which tens of thousands of Iraqis have died, on the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the nine Iranians were handed to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. They were then transferred to the Iranian embassy in Baghdad.
GOING HOME
Iranian state television quoted an unidentified Iranian embassy official as saying the two captured in Arbil, who were described as diplomats, would return home later on Friday.
The U.S. military statement identified them as Brujerd Chegini and Hamid Reza Asgari Shukuh.
Iranian media said the other seven were "pilgrims."
The nine freed were among 20 Iranians being held by U.S. forces in Iraq.
U.S. officials say the five captured in Arbil in January were either members of or "associates" of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards`s elite Qods Force, which Washington accuses of supporting terrorism.
Iran says the "Arbil Five" are all diplomats and has called for the release of all of them.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari applauded news this week that the Iranians, some of whom had been held for as long as three years, would be released. He said the move could encourage more productive U.S.-Iranian talks on Iraqi security.
The U.S. military announced it would release the nine this week after noting a sharp drop in mortar attacks on Baghdad`s heavily fortified Green Zone last month. Many of those attacks have been blamed on Shi`ite militias using Iranian-made weapons.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker has also made note of the ceasefire ordered by Moqtada al-Sadr, the head of the feared Shi`ite Mehdi Army, in August. U.S. officials accuse Sadr of having close links with Iran.
Crocker held three rounds of talks with his Iranian counterpart this year on Iraqi security, ending a diplomatic freeze that lasted almost three decades.
Last week, Crocker said he expected another round of talks, again focusing on Iraqi security in coming weeks. Those talks will not cover Iran`s nuclear program, another big source of friction between Tehran and Washington.
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