US Troops In Iraq Capture Suspected Weapons Smugglers Who May Be Linked To Iran, Military Says

Sunday, July 22nd 2007, 2:45 pm

By: News On 6

BAGHDAD (AP) _ The U.S. military detained two suspected weapons smugglers Sunday on suspicion of links to Iran's elite Quds Force, even as Washington plans new direct talks with Iran on the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.

Bombings and shootings left at least 18 people dead nationwide, including an Iraqi interpreter working for Americans in Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. A top aide to Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani was stabbed to death Saturday in the holy city of Najaf, officials said. Police and al-Sistani's office declined to comment on the killing of Sheik Abdullah Falak al-Basrawi, the second al-Sistani aide slain in just over a month.

The suspected smugglers and a number of weapons were seized during a raid on a rural farm compound in eastern Iraq, near the Iranian border, the military said.

``The suspects may be associated with a network of terrorists that have been smuggling explosively formed projectiles (EFPs), other weapons, personnel and money from Iran into Iraq,'' the military said. The powerful, armor-piercing roadside bombs known as EFPs have killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers in recent months.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Tuesday that no date had been set for the talks with Iran but suggested that discussions were under way. Iran said it had agreed to talks. It would be the first meeting between the two countries since U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker met Iranian officials in Baghdad on May 28.

That meeting marked a break in a 27-year diplomatic freeze and was expected to be followed by a second encounter within a month. But tensions have risen over Tehran's detention of four Iranian-Americans charged with endangering national security. The U.S. has demanded their release, saying the charges against them are false.

At the same time, Iran has called for the release of five Iranians detained in Iraq, whom the United States says are the operations chief and other members of the Quds Force, which is accused of arming and training Iraqi militants. Iran says the five are diplomats.

``We do feel that there are networks of explosively formed projectiles ... that are coming from Iran,'' U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Mark Fox said during a press conference. He said the military was going after those networks and members of the secret cells using the weapons, believed to be primarily Shiite militias.

Two prominent Iraqi legislators, meanwhile, said prospects were dim for reaching agreement on a U.S.-backed oil law before parliament adjourns for an August vacation.

American officials have been pressing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and parliament to pass laws that Washington considers crucial to Iraq's stability and the debate on how long U.S. forces should remain.

But Mahmoud Othman, a Kurd, and Abbas al-Bayati, a Shiite Turkoman, said a new law on distributing Iraq's oil wealth was not likely to be debated by parliament before September because political leaders have been unable to agree on it.

``There must first be political consensus between the major blocs on the law but there is not enough time for this to be done before the August break,'' said al-Bayati, a member of the United Iraqi Alliance, the largest Shiite bloc in the 275-seat house.

The oil law, approved by al-Maliki's Cabinet but not sent to parliament because of major opposition, calls for a distribution of the income from Iraq's massive petroleum resources among Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis.

Sunnis, who make up the bulk of the insurgency, have virtually no known oil reserves in their territories yet still oppose the current bill. Kurds, who control large reserves in northern Iraq, also oppose the measure because it could loosen their control over a key asset.

American commander Gen. David Petraeus must report to Congress on progress in Iraq by Sept. 15, and the absence of legislative progress will cast a heavy cloud over any attempt to paint a positive picture. Al-Maliki on Saturday called on parliament to cancel its monthlong vacation or at least limit it to two weeks.

The infusion of about 30,000 more American forces was President Bush's attempt to calm the capital and provide ``breathing space'' to pass the legislation. But so far nothing of consequence has reached the floor of the parliament and violence has persisted.