U.S. Acts to Limit Influence Of Iran in Iraq's Politics

U.S. Acts to Limit Influence Of Iran in Iraq's Politics
By MICHAEL R. GORDON

New York Times
May 1, 2003

The American military has begun to capture suspected Iranian agents and is planning to station military forces along the major routes from Iran to try to stop infiltrations by Iranian-backed forces.

A group of fighters from the Badr Brigade, Iraqi exiles backed by Iran, was recently apprehended by American forces in northern Iraq, American officials disclosed on Tuesday. The forces had jeeps and were equipped with rifles and other arms. They were detained as they moved toward southern Iraq.

The White House has warned Iran not to capitalize on the power vacuum and confusion after the ouster of Saddam Hussein's government to interfere in Iraq's affairs.

But now the American military is enforcing that warning by trying to stop Iranian-based forces from entering Iraq and agitating here.

''We will take steps to suppress any threats to security and stability, and that includes Iranian forces that don't comply,'' Maj. Gen. William Webster, the deputy commander of the allied ground command, said in an interview.

''We are going to increase our focus on routes from Iran,'' General Webster added. ''As the country becomes more stable, we can structure ourselves to shift to the east.''

In recent weeks, there has been a steady trickle of intelligence reports about efforts by Iran to influence and shape events inside Iraq.

Iran, in the view of American analysts, does not welcome a strong American role in Iraq, which would extend American political and military influence in the region.

Under this assessment, Iran is not looking to confront American forces but to influence events so that the United States fails in its effort to shape Iraq and decides to leave. Also, according to this view, Iran does not want Iraq -- a rival that it fought in a long and bloody war -- to become powerful again.

Some groups that have links to Iran have been peaceful. The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a group of Iraqi Shiites led by Ayatollah Muhammad Bakir al-Hakim, has been careful not to challenge publicly the American role in Iraq. It took part in a recent meeting of Iraqi leaders in Baghdad organized by American officials.

But American officials have received repeated reports through intelligence channels that Iranian agents and Iraqi exiles supported by Iran have been slipping across the border. Some have been returning to Iraq, gathering arms and setting up headquarters in towns in the south, where they have been trying to recruit supporters and organize demonstrations.

General Webster said that the American military was not looking for a confrontation with Iran, but would engage Iranian-backed forces that ventured into Iraq to undermine stability there.

American forces, in fact, have already detained a small number of suspected agents who have made their way across the border, he said.

Policing the porous Iraq-Iran border is very difficult, especially for an American force that is trying to bring order to Baghdad and stabilize the cities in northern and southern Iraq. The American military has used helicopters to keep an eye on the Iranian border.

But as Iraq becomes more stable, General Webster said, American forces will shift more of their attention to the east and focus on routes from Iran.

The Badr forces have long been a cause of American concern. The organization is made up of Iraqi Shiites who took up arms against the Hussein government and who are affiliated with the Supreme Council political organization.

The Badr brigade can be broken roughly into three groups: fighters who waged a largely unsuccessful guerrilla insurgency in southern Iraq against the Hussein government; fighters who have taken refuge in the northern Iraq; and fighters now returning from Iran. It is the last group that is of most concern because those fighters are believed to be under Iranian influence.

According to reports, between 1,500 and 5,000 Badr fighters have left Iran for northern Iraq in recent months. Iranian intelligence agents and members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard are believed to be among them, American officials say.

American officials have also been concerned about the presence of Iranian agents and sympathizers in Kut and Amara and in the stretch of eastern Iraq that runs from Amara to Basra. It is not easy to uncover the agents among the many Iraqi refugees who sought shelter in Iran and now want to return.

The main worry is that Iran will expand its influence in the major Shiite cites of southern Iraq, like Najaf and Karbala.

From Iran's perspective, the Americans' presence in Iraq may be cause for concern, as well. The Americans have concluded a cease-fire with the People's Mujahedeen, an Iranian opposition group that has taken refuge in Iraq. The group had links to Mr. Hussein's government and has been branded a terrorist organization by the United States.

The cease-fire arrangement allows the group to keep its weapons as long as it does not threaten American forces and stays in specially designated areas. It is still unclear what long-term arrangements will be made to handle the group.

With more than 100,000 troops in Iraq, the Americans have a formidable ground force in place with no set timetable for leaving. That is also a worry for Iran, which now confronts American forces to its west in Afghanistan, American bases to its north in central Asia, and American naval and air forces to its south in the Persian Gulf.

Military operations are not the only way the Americans are trying to counter Iranian influence. The Bush administration says it will not accept a Shiite-dominated theocracy and has been organizing meetings of Iraqi exile leaders who are deemed generally to be acceptable to the United States.

Recently, the American military began new radio broadcasts, including one aimed at Iraqis in Iran. It said that those who return should leave their guns behind.