Region | Iraq
Fears of military action on Iraq-Iran border
Tensions between Iran and Iraq have escalated in recent weeks to the extent that threats of military action have been made, a senior member of Iraq’s security forces said.
- By Phil Sands and Jumana Al Tamimi
- Published: 00:00 June 17, 2005
Tensions between Iran and Iraq have escalated in recent weeks to the extent that threats of military action have been made, a senior member of Iraq's security forces said.
General Nazim Mohammad, chief of Iraq's Border Police in Muntheria, told Gulf News he had personally told his Iranian counterparts their soldiers would be shot if they strayed too close to Iraqi fortifications.
Speaking during an interview at his headquarters in Muntheria, on the Iraq-Iran frontier, he claimed his forces had come under small arms fire from the Iranians. Iranian troops had also fired mortars which exploded on Iraqi soil, he said.
American officers confirmed there had been mortar strikes, which they said appeared to have hit the no-man's land between Iraqi and Iranian lines.
When contacted, Laith Kubba, spokesman for the Iraqi Government, told Gulf News: "I don't have any information on this. But these could be smuggling groups which are usually armed. This is not the first time it has happened."
Iranian officials and mediamen, however, felt the accusations were not true.
Mosib Nuaimi, Editor-in-Chief of Al Wesaq newspaper, told Gulf News from Iran: "How can mortar shells fall without anyone seeing them? After the recent explosions in the Iranian city of Ahvaz, security has been boosted. But I haven't heard of any tension on the border."
According to Gen Nazim, he and other Iraqi officials were sent by the Ministry of Interior to a meeting with Iranian authorities recently.
"I told the Iranians: ‘Mortars from the Iranian side are often being fired on the Iraqi side ... I have ordered my soldiers, if Iranian soldiers come close to us, we will open fire directly. If I capture your soldiers, I will parade them on TV in front of the entire world'."
Gen Nazim, who is well respected by US forces for his tough approach to security, also said his men had arrested several Iranians involved in sabotage.
"We captured three men and there is proof they blew up oil pipelines near Nuft Khaneh under the orders of Iranian intelligence officers," he said. "They had people working with them in Baquba too."
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