After sanctions, US arrests Iranians in Iraq

This past week saw escalating tensions between the US and Iran after a series of provocative incidents unfolded. Iraqi and Iranian authorities slammed the United States on Dec. 25 for arresting several Iranians who were visiting Iraq. A US official said the Iranians were suspected of involvement in attacks against Iraqi security forces. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini warned that "this action is not justifiable by any international rules or regulations and will have unpleasant consequences." A spokesman for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Talabani had invited the Iranians to the country, and the president was "unhappy" about the arrests. He said the meeting had been arranged "in the framework of an agreement to improve security in Iraq." The US National Security Council (NSC) confirmed that the US military arrested at least four Iranians in raids during the past week in Iraq, including two diplomats. NSC spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the two diplomats were questioned, turned over to the Iraqi government and released. At least two others, who are members of the Iranian military, remain in US military custody while an investigation is conducted on whether they were involved in attacks on security forces in Iraq, Johndroe said. Hosseini said the Iraqi government is responsible for the Iranians' release because it invited them to Iraq and "the occupying forces must be answerable [to] international law based on their actions." The US military said on Dec. 26 that it had credible evidence linking the Iranians and their Iraqi associates to criminal activities, including attacks against US forces. They claimed to have evidence that some of the detainees were involved in shipments of weapons to illegal armed groups in Iraq. The Bush administration has described the two Iranians still being held as senior military officials. An official in the Iranian embassy in Baghdad said its diplomats had tried to see the detainees but were not allowed to, a refusal that violated international rules. UN passes sanctions resolution The arrests came amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran over Iran's nuclear program. The United States and other Western nations are concerned Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. Tehran says it simply wants nuclear energy and refuses to halt its nuclear program. Tensions between Iran and Western powers rose to new heights on Dec. 23 as the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution imposing sanctions on Iran for its nuclear activities. Unanimously adopted by all 15 members of the Council, the resolution bans the supply of nuclear-related technology and materials and imposes an asset freeze on key individuals and companies. It demands that Tehran end all uranium enrichment work, which produces fuel for nuclear energy plants, and potentially for weapons. The resolution did not include a full travel ban which the US, in particular, had been seeking on individuals involved in Iran's nuclear program. Instead, states have been asked to inform the Security Council of movements across their borders by named individuals on the list. Diplomatic sources said it should be seen as an interim step towards a full travel ban if Iran fails to comply. Foreign countries will also be barred from offering relevant technical, training or financial assistance. The resolution imposes an asset freeze and other restrictions too, on 12 Iranians identified as involved in nuclear activities, as well as on 11 institutions and companies. US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said the resolution was not enough and that the US would try to persuade other countries to impose stronger penalties individually. "We don't think this resolution is enough in itself. We want to let the Iranians know that there is a big cost to them," he said. "We would like to see more vigorous national and multilateral action against Iran, stronger sanctions–and not just UN Security Council sanctions but outside the Council–and we would like to see countries to stop doing business as usual with Iran…. We are certainly not going to put all of our eggs in the UN basket." Hosseini said that the resolution "cannot affect or limit Iran's peaceful nuclear activities, but will discredit the decisions of the Security Council, whose power is deteriorating." The vote came after weeks of tough diplomatic negotiations among the five permanent members of the council, the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China. Sponsored by Britain, France and Germany, the resolution was amended several times after objections from Russia and China. Under Chapter VII of Article 41 of the UN Charter, the resolution makes Iranian compliance obligatory but does not include the threat of military action. However, sponsors said the resolution sent a warning that there would be serious repercussions if Tehran fails to comply. In response, Iranian Ambassador Javad Zarif accused the United States and its allies of pursuing a policy of "double standards" and called the sanctions "an instrument of pressure to compel Iran to abandon the exercise of its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty-guaranteed right to peaceful nuclear technology." In a statement, Hosseini condemned the resolution as illegal. Last July, after long and complicated negotiations, the Security Council adopted another resolution calling for immediate suspension of uranium-related activities, but Iran refused to comply. The Iranian leadership argues that it is the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), not the Security Council, which should deal with such matters. The IAEA, which is responsible for monitoring compliance with the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, has strongly objected to the Iranian decision to reopen its uranium-related activities, but has never said that the Iranian nuclear program is aimed at making weapons. Commenting on the resolution, the Iranian ambassador said the IAEA "repeatedly verified that Iran fully suspended what it had agreed to suspend in each and every report from November 2003 to February 2006," adding that the US and its allies never tried to approach Iran with a serious compromise. In defending Tehran's position, the Iranian envoy questioned the Security Council's inaction over Israel's nuclear program. Israel is believed to posses an arsenal of 300 to 400 nuclear weapons, and recently the Israeli prime minister implicitly acknowledged that his country was armed with such weapons. In its resolution, the Council asked the IAEA director to submit a report within 60 days on whether Iran has established full and sustained suspension of all "nuclear proliferation-sensitive" activities. According to some provisions of the resolution, the Security Council shall lift the sanctions if Iran suspended its enrichment-related activities and complied with the relevant Security Council resolutions and IAEA requirements. Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the resolution was a "piece of paper" adding that the countries who voted in favor would regret it. Ahmadinejad said the West had lost its chance to improve relations with Iran. "No matter [whether] they accept it or not," Ahmadinejad said, "Iran is now an established nuclear state and it is in their interest to live alongside the Iranian nation." In the Iranian parliament, an overwhelming majority of deputies approved an emergency bill directing the government to review cooperation with the IAEA. Ships to deploy to Gulf Meanwhile, the US command responsible for Middle East operations has asked the Pentagon to add a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf region as a warning to Iran and Syria, and to help it carry out other operations. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates said an increased US naval presence in the Gulf was not just a response to any action by Iran, but a message to all countries that the United States will keep its regional footprint "for a long time." The projected naval buildup, however, was intended to discourage what US officials claim are increasingly "provocative acts" by Tehran. White House spokesperson Tony Snow told reporters, "Iran has to stop being provocative." "I don't think it's a response to anything anyone else has done," Gates told reporters during a three-day visit to Iraq. "I think the message that we are sending to everyone, not just Iran, is that the United States is an enduring presence in this part of the world. We have been here for a long time. We will be here for a long time and everybody needs to remember that–both our friends and those who might consider themselves our adversaries," he said. Vice-Admiral Patrick M. Walsh, the commander of naval forces in the US military's central command explained: "Iranian tone and rhetoric creates an environment of intimidation and fear." "[US allies] need reassurances that we expect to be part of the effort here for the long term, that we will not run away from intimidation and that we will be part of the effort here for security and stability at sea for the long term," Walsh added. "Our position must be visible and it must have muscle in order to be credible. That requires sustained presence." The naval buildup would address another concern: that Iran could try to block oil shipments from the gulf in retaliation for the sanctions or other US-led pressures. As opposed to ground and air forces that require bases in the region, naval forces offer a capacity for projecting power in parts of the world where a large US footprint is controversial, and unwanted even by allies. Many of the ships could be kept over the horizon, out of sight, but close enough to project their power quickly, if so desired. The tougher posture on Iran and a temporary troop surge in Iraq would both run counter to the findings of the Iraq Study Group earlier this month which recommended a withdrawal of US combat forces from Iraq by early 2008, and the opening of diplomatic talks with Iran and Syria. The aircraft carrier Eisenhower and its strike group–including three escort ships, an attack submarine and 6,500 sailors in all–entered the Persian Gulf on Dec. 11 after a naval exercise to practice halting vessels suspected of smuggling nuclear materials in waters across the region.