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Iran Curbing Support For Rebels, Iraqi Official Says

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The Associated Press

Published: November 18, 2007

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi government spokesman said Saturday that Iran has shown increasing restraint in its support for militants, echoing recent assertions by U.S. officials and urging both sides to take advantage of the situation to hold a new round of talks on stabilizing his country.

The turning point was an August visit by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to Shiite-dominated Iran, where he told supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to choose between supporting the Shiite-led Iraqi government or other parties, spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.

"Iran is showing more restraint in sending people and weapons to destabilize Iraq," al-Dabbagh said during a discussion with reporters at his compound in the Green Zone in central Baghdad.

U.S. officials have recently made similar statements, appearing to soften their stance against Iran in Iraq amid a decline in violence.

Iran has denied claims by American commanders that it is arming and training Shiite militia fighters in Iraq.

Al-Dabbagh said Iran was a factor in radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordering his Mahdi Army militia fighters to cease attacks later in August, calling it "evidence of its good intentions."

Why Iran may have decided to curb its support for Shiite militants is unclear. Iran may have concluded that helping shore up al-Maliki, a Shiite, served Tehran's long-term interests better than supporting groups responsible for violence.

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