Iran reached out to Iraq and the American public in separate gestures Wednesday, giving the Baghdad government a $1 billion line of credit while Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a personal letter to “noble Americans” calling for a military withdrawal from Iraq.
The financial arrangements were revealed on the third and final day of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s meetings here with Iran’s political elite. Ahmadinejad also made clear for the first time that Iran would support Iraq’s government in setting a timetable for U.S. troops to leave the country.
In an interview with the Tribune in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that in addition to the line of credit, Ahmadinejad and Talabani had signed “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of no-bid contracts and trade pacts for Iraqi reconstruction. Under the agreements, Iran will help rebuild schools, hospitals, pipelines and power plants.
Iran’s gestures underscored its deep religious bond with its Shiite-majority neighbor but also what some believe is its desire to displace the U.S. as a powerbroker in Iraq. They were announced as possible tensions surfaced in the U.S.-Iraq relationship when a summit between Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Bush in Amman was postponed by a day.
Ahmadinejad’s “letter to the American people,” released by Iran’s UN mission in New York, made special note of the financial cost of the Iraq war to the United States.
“I consider it extremely unlikely that you, the American people, consent to the billions of dollars of annual expenditure from your treasury for this military misadventure,” he wrote.
He noted other possible uses for the money, pointing out that “many victims of Katrina continue to suffer, and countless Americans continue to live in poverty and homelessness.”
While such jibes at U.S. policy are common for Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president used highly diplomatic language Wednesday to wrap up Talabani’s visit. Discussing a possible timetable for withdrawal of foreign troops, he said too much time had passed for “those who came to help the Iraqi nation.”
Concerning the U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Ahmadinejad said: “When Saddam was toppled everyone was happy.”
But the Iranian leader’s message to the U.S. was direct: “I strongly advise you to leave Iraq to restore your respect and reputation. Based on an agreed timetable with the Iraqi government, trying to handle the affair eventually, you should let the Iraqi government run the country.”
Ahmadinejad had invited Talabani to Tehran this week to explore possible ways to bring calm to Iraq, but neither man explained what, if any, security agreement they had reached.
No mention of militias
At no time during the three days of talks was there any public mention of the militias blamed for much of the bloodletting in Iraq–notably Shiite militias that could be influenced by leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Both Ahmadinejad and Talabani delivered prepared statements to the news media Wednesday. Neither took questions.
Talabani said the two countries “had complete agreement” in three days of talks.
Iran and Iraq fought a vicious, eight-year war in the 1980s when Hussein, a Sunni Arab, was head of the Baghdad government. Talabani, a Kurd from northern Iraq, has had good relations over the years with Iranian leaders, and he has been portrayed as pivotal in finding support for Iraq from Iran.
Some analysts had suggested that Talabani, who also has strong relations with the U.S., could open avenues of communication between Iran and the U.S., which are longtime adversaries. But there was no hint of a broader agenda from the Iraqi leader’s comments.
“We can clearly say that the trip has been 100 percent successful,” Talabani said. “And I would like to give the Iraqi nation the good news that the fruitful result of this trip will soon be seen by them.”
Talabani met with top ministers in the government and the Islamic republic’s supreme leader, and he indicated that the Iranian elite understood the threat that violence poses for the region. U.S. officials, however, believe Iran has been involved in backing some of the militias linked to the unrest in Iraq, and the Bush administration has expressed skepticism about Iran’s interest.
Ahmadinejad was specific in his statement about how he regarded the daily car bombs and mortar attacks that have nearly paralyzed Iraq and have been blamed largely on feuding Shiite and Sunni Muslim factions.
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“Terrorist acts are the most shameful acts you can do,” Ahmadinejad said. “This is not a help to the Iraqi nation.”
Foreign Minister Mottaki, in an hourlong interview in his office after the briefing, elaborated on how Iran and Iraq “found common ground” this week.
Iran is intent on supporting the president, prime minister and government of Iraq, he said. Asked what security measure Iran could provide, he said, “Anything that is asked of us. They have to ask and they have to announce it.”
Asked whether the leaders discussed Iran’s dispute with the U.S. and the UN over its nuclear enrichment program, Mottaki said no one raised the issue.
U.S. urged to take a `hard look’
“I think it is time for the United States to take a hard look at their failings in the region,” Mottaki said. He added that Iran was looking for some changes on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan where American forces are positioned.
“It’s an attitude, not the number of forces,” he said about the Iranian leadership’s ire toward U.S. policy.
Ahmadinejad’s letter to the American public was released just after Wednesday’s news briefing, and it was unclear whether Talabani knew of the letter beforehand. It also was unclear why the Iranian leader wanted the letter to emerge after upbeat talks with Talabani, who was expected to consult with the Bush administration.
The letter, another unorthodox move by the Iranian leader who a few months ago sent a rambling personal letter to President Bush that questioned his judgment and vision, asked the American public to “play an instrumental role” in reforming U.S. policy.
It was also antagonistic and deeply critical of Israel, a staunch U.S. ally.
“What have the Zionists done for the American people that the U.S. administration considers itself obliged to blindly support these infamous aggressors?” Ahmadinejad wrote Wednesday. “Is it not because they have imposed themselves on a substantial portion of the banking, financial, cultural and media sectors?”
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Ahmadinejad to the American people
“I consider it extremely unlikely that you, the American people, consent to the billions of dollars of annual expenditure from your treasury for this military misadventure.”
“You are witnessing daily that under the pretext of `the war on terror,’ civil liberties in the United States are being increasingly curtailed. Even the privacy of individuals is fast losing its meaning.”
“Now that you [Democrats] control an important branch of the U.S. Government, you will also be held to account by the people and by history.”
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