Posted on 04/15/2004 12:25:39 PM PDT by TexKat
BAGHDAD (AFP) - A senior Iranian diplomat was gunned down in Iraq a day after Tehran sent a peace mission to help end a standoff between US forces and militant Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.
A high-ranking foreign ministry official who is heading the delegation said the assassination was "most certainly" linked to his visit.
He sought to play down his role in efforts to avert a major battle between the US military and Sadr's Mehdi Army militia, although it was unclear if the apparent change of position was a result of the killing.
An AFP correspondent saw the body of first secretary Khalil Naimi lying in his bullet-riddled car on a Baghdad street after his murder.
Two bullets had pierced the windshield and eight bullet holes were visible on the driver's door.
Iranian foreign ministry official Hossein Sadeghi, responsible for Gulf affairs, described the murder as "savage" and said there was a clear link between the assassination and his delegation's visit.
"Such savage moves are condemned and deplored by the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
It was not immediately clear whether the assassination had had any direct impact on Sadeghi's plans in Iraq, although the envoy ruled out holding any talks with Sadr after earlier hinting that this might be a possible.
"This visit definitely is not designed to mediate any standoff or any confrontation. The purpose of it is assessing the general situation in Iraq," he said.
"The whole objective is to hear everybody's views at this stage."
The envoy's comments appeared to contradict those of Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi who had said Wednesday that the delegation was in Iraq to "help in improving the situation ... and solving the crisis."
Kharazi said the team had been sent at the request of arch-foe the United States, although Washington insisted that the proposal was a British one which it had not opposed.
Inside Iraq Thursday, coalition officials sought to play down Iran's role.
"We are not involved in any discussions with the Iranians regarding Sadr," said senior civilian spokesman Dan Senor. The crisis over Sadr "has to be solved by Iraqis, not Iranians."
The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, went further on an unannounced visit to Baghdad, saying the last thing Iraq needed was "influence from neighboring countries trying to promote or protect their own self interest."
Washington has sent thousands of armoured infantry to the region around the Shiite holy city of Najaf, where Sadr took refuge following an uprising by his militia forces last week.
Sadr unleashed his militiamen at the beginning of April, seizing control of towns in central and southern Iraq after one of his associates was arrested and one of his newspapers was shut down for allegedly inciting anti-US violence.
His uprising also came after a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with the murder of a rival cleric last year.
On the ground in Najaf, all was quiet Thursday. Iraqi police were seen around the city's main streets, while Sadr's black-clad fighters milled around the mausoleum of Imam Ali, the city's holiest shrine.
Sadr said Thursday he was prepared to meet the Iranian delegation in Najaf, but aides to the cleric said the contents of any Iranian proposal remained unknown.
An aide to the radical cleric, Hazem al-Araji, told AFP that although Sadr was open to mediation, he would not abandon his main demands -- the release of detained supporters and guarantees that US troops would not enter the holy cities of Karbala, Najaf and Kufa.
"Sayyed Moqtada is prepared to do whatever Iraq's Shiite leadership tell him to do as long as it is in the interest of Iraq and the Iraqi people," said Araji, who was himself briefly detained by US troops on Tuesday.
Another aide said Wednesday that the cleric was willing to disarm his Mehdi Army and appear before a court under a future "legitimate and democratic" Iraqi government.
But Araji sought to downplay those offers, raising doubts over the cleric's true position amid a barrage of statements and counter-statements.
What is clear is that Sadr has significantly toned down his rhetoric over the past week as US troops massed near Najaf with the stated mission of killing or capturing him.
Only last Friday Sadr was calling on all Iraqis to join his uprising to drive the US-led coalition out, warning of a mass Shiite uprising.
Iraqi police stand next to the wreckage of an Iranian diplomatic vehicle in which an Iranian diplomat was shot and killed close to the Iranian mission in Baghdad, April 15, 2004. Iran's state television identified the dead man as the first secretary of Iran's embassy, Khalil Naimi. Photo by Akram Saleh/Reuters
A security guard of the Iranian embassy stands near the bullet riddled car of Khalil Naimi, an Iranian diplomat who was gunned down in Baghdad by unknown assailants.(AFP/Karim Sahib)
(I love the blanket)
People load into an ambulance the dead body of Khalil Naimi, an Iranian diplomat who was gunned down in Baghdad by unknown assailants.(AFP/Antonio Scorza)
Iraqi police investgate the scene where Khalil Naimi, the first secretary of the Iranian Embassy, lays dead in his car near the Iranian ambassy in Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Thursday, April 15, 2004. Gunmen killed a high-ranking Iranian diplomat in Baghdad Thursday, but it was unclear whether the killing was linked to Iranian efforts to mediate between U.S. forces and a radical Shiite cleric. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
Khalil Naimi, the first secretary of the Iranian Embassy, lays dead in his car near the Iranian ambassy in Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), THursday April 15 2004. Gunmen killed a high-ranking Iranian diplomat in Baghdad Thursday, but it was unclear whether the killing was linked to Iranian efforts to mediate between U.S. forces and a radical Shiite cleric. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
(someone had a camera handy)
Khalil Naimi, the first secretary of the Iranian Embassy, lays dead in his car near the Iranian ambassy in Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Thursday April 15, 2004. Gunmen killed a high-ranking Iranian diplomat in Baghdad Thursday, but it was unclear whether the killing was linked to Iranian efforts to mediate between U.S. forces and a radical Shiite cleric. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
Peacock as in Peacock Throne?
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States said it would not be appropriate for Iran to attempt to mediate an end to the standoff between the US-led coalition in Iraq and militant Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The State Department said Washington would be pleased if a delegation from Tehran now in Baghdad used its influence with the Shia community to promote the authority of the Iraqi interim administration, but that it should not seek a greater role, particularly in the holy city of Najaf where Sadr is holed up.
"Our view -- and this has been communicated to the Iranians as well -- is that it's not appropriate for them to try to mediate in some way," spokesman Richard Boucher said.
"It is appropriate for them to try to work with the authorities in Baghdad, to try to work with the Iraqis who are in leadership roles ... and bring whatever influence to bear that they can that would help stabilize the situation peacefully and allow the extension of governmental authority," he said.
Boucher said that a representative of the US occupation authority sat in on a meeting between the Iranian delegation and British officials and delivered Washington's message.
Earlier Thursday in Iraq, coalition officials had also sought to play down Iran's role in the Sadr situation.
Washington has sent thousands of armored infantry to the region around Najaf, where Sadr took refuge after militia loyal to him launched an insurgency more than 10 days ago.
Sadr unleashed his militiamen at the beginning of April, seizing control of towns in central and southern Iraq after one of his associates was arrested and one of his newspapers was shut down for allegedly inciting anti-US violence.
The move came after a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with the murder of a rival cleric last year.
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