JERUSALEM: Israel voiced concern yesterday at the prospect of its closest ally, Washington, cooperating with its what it considers its deadliest foe, Iran, to stave off a sectarian break-up of Iraq. But, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said, the United States and other major powers have pledged that any such cooperation would not set back their drive to curb Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The Obama administration said on Sunday it was considering talks with Iran about the Iraqi crisis. Iranian officials have voiced openness to working with the Americans in helping Baghdad repel a Sunni Muslim insurgency. While deploring the “ungodly horror” of the bloodshed in Iraq, Steinitz said Iran should not be helped to extend its sway in Iran where fellow Shi’ite Muslims form the majority.
That, he said would give Tehran an arc of control running through Syria, where the Iranians back embattled President Bashar Al Assad, and on to Lebanon, where they have powerful allies in the Hezbollah militia. “And we would especially not want for a situation to be created where, because both the United States and Iran support the government of (Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri) Al Maliki, it softens the American positions on the issue which is most critical for the peace of the world, which is the Iranian nuclear issue,” Steinitz said in an interview.
Dozens of UN staff leave Baghdad
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations said yesterday it was moving dozens of employees out of Baghdad as a precaution due to the deteriorating security situation in Iraq. A spokesman said 58 of the 200 international staff working for the UN in and around Baghdad “are being relocated temporarily to other areas outside” the capital. AFP
