Leaders skirt issue of Iranian intelligence meddling in Iraq

Baghdad: Iran and Iraq have reached an agreement on many issues during the Iranian president's historic visit to Baghdad, Iraqi officials said.

However, the issue of Iranian "intelligence interference" was not discussed, Iraqi Sunni politicians complained.

According to Naseer Al Ani, head of the Iraq's presidency department, memorandum of understanding in political, economic and security fields have been agreed upon between Iraqi officials and the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the latter's visit to the Iraqi capital.

"There is an agreement to develop anti-terrorist operations and border control and demarcation besides resolving problems of the joint oil fields and Shatt Al Arab", he told Gulf News.

However, high political sources in the Sunni Islamic Party headed by Vice- President Tariq Al Hashemi said that the Iranian president refused to talk about any guarantees to stop the Iranian intelligence and military interference in Iraq.

The officials added that Ahmadinejad also has not accepted any agreement with the Iraqis on handing over wanted death squads' leaders who fled to Iran, and whom the Iraqi government wants repatriated for trial in Baghdad.

Hamid Al Mualla, a prominent leader in the Islamic Supreme Council led by Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, told Gulf News that the MOUs with Iranian President focused on Iran's economic support to Iraq especially in fields of energy and transportation.

Iraqi political researcher, Jabr Abdul Razzak told Gulf News: "I think that particular security files were not listed on the agenda of talks with Iraqi officials, because Iraqi President Jalal Al Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki will not address security files with Ahmadinejad for they basically do not seek any negative Iranian interference in internal Iraqi affairs," he said. "I think they will focus on economic cooperation."

Former staff member at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Adel Saadoun, told Gulf News: "There is a Kurdish-Shiite axis led by President Al Talabani and the coalition leader Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, and this axis wants to establish a complete political and economical partnership with Iran, besides it does not accuse Iranians of interfering in the Iraqi situation unlike the Sunni Arabs and Americans position. Iranian President knows how to support Al Talibani and Al Hakim and that is by controlling the armed Shiite groups."

According to Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, Tehran wants to offer Baghdad a loan of one billion dollars under condition of Iranian companies work in projects where this loan is invested.

Iraqi Oil Ministry officials said that Baghdad seeks to lay a pipeline to export the Iraqi oil from Basra governorate through Iranian ports and territories and that Iran shares a large part of the pipeline cost.