LAT: Iran's Internal Divisions Play Out in Iraq (Iran a force there)

[DeepModem Mom]

Iran's Internal Divisions Play Out in Iraqi Arena
Tehran's efforts to gain sway in its fellow Shiite nation are hampered by rivalries, officials say.

By Megan K. Stack, Times Staff Writer


KARBALA, Iraq — Pouring money into political parties, charities and armed organizations in a semi-covert campaign for influence and control, Iran has emerged as a silent and powerful force in postwar Iraq, Iraqi officials and Western diplomats said....

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But Iran's internal divisions have muddied its goals in Iraq....Top political leaders in Tehran, for example, were quick to reach out to Iraq's interim government, hailing the end of U.S.-led rule and insisting that Iran would only suffer from bloodshed next door. Meanwhile, some Iranian intelligence cells were slipping money to insurgent groups in Iraq, Iraqi officials and Western diplomats said....

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Iran has...spent millions of dollars in Iraq — much of it funneled to political parties that acknowledge the payments — in the hope of buying loyalty and influence, said Western diplomats, who asked to remain anonymous. In Iraq's four southern provinces, two of the governors and two of the police chiefs have strong links to Iran, one of the diplomats said. Smaller Iraqi Shiite parties often say they have to check with Iran before making even slight political moves, another diplomat said.

Meanwhile, diplomats fear that Iranian intelligence has established a presence in Iraq, with agents sending cash and weapons to the anti-U.S. militias. Tehran denies anything improper, but the diplomats said some elements in Iran continue to finance the Badr Brigade, the armed wing of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, and even appear to have forged ties recently with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr's forces. Sadr's militia is battling U.S. forces in Najaf....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-iran12aug12,1,2810269.story?coll=la-home-headlines