Iraqi Official Seeks Release of Iranians

[cal04]

The Iraqi foreign minister called Sunday for the release of five Iranians detained by U.S. forces in what he said was a legitimate mission in northern Iraq, but he stressed that foreign intervention to help insurgents would not be tolerated.

The two-pronged statement by Hoshyar Zebari highlighted the delicate balance facing the Iraqi government as it tries to secure Baghdad with the help of American forces while maintaining ties with its neighbors, including U.S. rivals Iran and Syria.

``Any interventions - or any harmful interventions to kill Iraqis or to provide support for insurgency or for the insurgents should be stopped by the Iraqi government and by the coalition forces,'' Zebari said in an interview with CNN's ``Late Edition.''

(snip)
``You have to remember, our destiny, as Iraqis, we have to live in this part of the world. And we have to live with Iran, we have to live with Syria and Turkey and other countries,'' he said. ``So in fact, on the other hand, the Iraqi government is committed to cultivate good neighborly relations with these two countries and to engage them constructively in security cooperation.''


http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6345110,00.html

[Jeanette in FL]

1. uh-oh, seems like Zebari didn't read his memo's

Seems like he is on a different page than the US forces are on.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[scarletwoman]

2. Nice sovereignty you've got there, Iraq.

How far is this charade going to be allowed to go?

sw

[Kadie]

3. now up at Yahoo! - link

Iraqi official seeks release of Iranians
By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
11 minutes ago


BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi foreign minister called Sunday for the release of five Iranians detained by U.S. forces in what he said was a legitimate diplomatic mission in northern Iraq, but he stressed that foreign intervention to help insurgents would not be tolerated.

The two-pronged statement by Hoshyar Zebari highlighted the delicate balance facing the Iraqi government as it tries to secure Baghdad with the help of American forces while maintaining ties with its neighbors, including U.S. rivals Iran and Syria.

"Any interventions — or any harmful interventions to kill Iraqis or to provide support for insurgency or for the insurgents should be stopped by the Iraqi government and by the coalition forces," Zebari said in an interview with CNN's "Late Edition."

But he also stressed Iraq has to keep good relations with its neighbors in the region.

"You have to remember, our destiny, as Iraqis, we have to live in this part of the world. And we have to live with Iran, we have to live with Syria and Turkey and other countries," he said. "So in fact, on the other hand, the Iraqi government is committed to cultivate good neighborly relations with these two countries and to engage them constructively in security cooperation."

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070115/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_070113200613