Posted on 01/11/2007 4:33:56 AM PST by nuconvert
US forces storm Iranian consulate
Thursday, 11 January 2007
US forces have stormed an Iranian consulate in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil and seized five members of staff. The troops raided the building at about 0300 (0001GMT), taking away computers and papers, according to Kurdish media and senior local officials.
The US military had no immediate comment on the raid, which comes amid high tension between Iran and the US.
The Bush administration accuses Iran of helping fuel violence in Iraq, as well as trying to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran strenuously denies both charges, countering that US military involvement in the Middle East endangers the whole region.
A local TV station said Kurdish security forces had taken over the building after the Americans had left.
Irbil lies in Iraq's Kurdish-controlled north, about 350 kilometres (220 miles) from the capital Baghdad.
Reports say the Iranian consulate there was set up last year under an agreement with the Kurdish regional government to facilitate cross-border visits.
Pressure
Iranian media said the country's embassy in Baghdad had sent a letter of protest about the raid to the Iraqi foreign ministry.
One Iranian news agency with a correspondent in Irbil says five US helicopters were used to land troops on the roof of the Iranian consulate.
It reports that a number of vehicles cordoned off the streets around the building, while US soldiers warned the occupants in three different languages that they should surrender or be killed.
In December, US troops detained a number of Iranians in Iraq, including two with diplomatic immunity who were later released.
Thursday's raid came as US President George W Bush unveiled his new strategy in Iraq, which included increasing troop numbers and a commitment to stop Iranian support for "our enemies in Iraq".
BBC Diplomatic Correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the raid could signal a ratcheting-up of pressure on the Iranians, in line with the rhetorical thrust of his speech.
Meanwhile in the Iraqi capital, the five off-duty policemen were killed in an ambush in the western al-Khadra neighbourhood, hospital officials said
Security sources said another man was killed wounded in an attack on a money changer in downtown Baghdad.
In the restive Anbar province, the US military said that one of its troops was killed on Tuesday by a roadside bombing.
Um, hey Johnny - it's only rhetoric when the person doesn't act upon his words. GWB did.
No matter what, it is still a serious, not to be taken lightly, matter to raid an embassy...so I suspect the Adminstration had the goods on them, the backing of the Iraqi government, and the guts to take the heat this will generate.
Iran is fighting the US and Iran is going down.
pong
I can't help but listen to NPR. I'm surrounded by liberal greenie zombie lemmings who have it on the radio all day long....................It's on now.....grrrr........
I certainly hope so.
A few "LINO's" here, too.........
Iraqi Officials: 6 Iranian Workers Held
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2007/01/11/ap/international/d8mj3an80.txt
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi officials said Thursday that multinational forces detained as many as six Iranians in an overnight raid on Tehran's diplomatic mission in the northern city of Irbil, just hours after President Bush gave details about his new military plan for Iraq.
The forces stormed the Iranian mission at about 3 a.m., detaining the five staffers and confiscating computers and documents, two senior local Kurdish officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information. Irbil is a city in the Kurdish-controlled north, 220 miles from Baghdad.
(snip)
_________________________________________
Iran summons Swiss, Iraqi diplomats after US raid
(AP)
11 January 2007
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2007/January/middleeast_January99.xml§ion=middleeast
TEHERAN, Iran - Iran’s foreign ministry on Thursday summoned the Iraqi and Swiss envoys to Teheran over the detention of five Iranian staffers at a diplomatic mission in northern Iraq, state-run television reported.
The broadcast said the ministry had summoned the ambassadors and “demanded an explanation” about the incident. Switzerland represents American interests in Iran, where there is no US embassy.
The summons followed an early morning raid in Iraq, where multinational forces stormed the building of an Iranian consulate the Kurdish-controlled northern city of Irbil, 350 kilometers (220 miles) from Baghdad.
The troops detained the five staffers and confiscated computers and documents, according to local Kurdish officials in Irbil.
The US military issued a statement saying it had taken six people into custody in the region but did not mention a raid on the Iranian consulate. It declined further comment on the raid.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told state-run radio that the raid was “against a diplomatic mission” since the “presence of Iranian staffers in Irbil was legal.”
Hosseini claimed the action by the US-led coalition reflected “continuation of pressure” on Iran, aiming to “create tension” between Iraq and its neighbours.
Washington accuses Teheran of helping to incite the violence in Iraq by supporting the Shiite militias. Iran denies the allegations.
Last month, US troops detained elsewhere in Iraq at least two Iranians and released two others who had diplomatic immunity.
I can't believe that this is a real Iranian consulate with its diplomats accredited to the central Iraqi government. I serioiusly doubt that we would violate the diplomatic immunity of a real consulate.
Someone is supplying the artillery and intel to the insurgents. We know who is doing it and finally we are going to stop it. I am absolutely stunned we did not stop the supply long ago.
Another bold move. Bush knows he has to do the job before an appeasement president takes office in 2009.
This is almost certainly a follow on to what was found on the agents detained back in December:
http://billroggio.com/archives/2007/01/iran_and_alqaeda_in.php
They had the goods on these guys for sure. And I like it that the raid took place just about the time the President was speaking from the White House.
And they got more papers and computers again . . .
Arabs are chock full of wild claims and slaphappy bullsh*t Counting Coup Talk. If they would just stick to the suicide bombings, they'd be more believable, but NOOOOOOOOOO, they just HAVE to claim that they've mastered Cold Fusion and deliverable Thermonuclear Warheads.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
"isn't this considered an act of war?"
"I certainly hope so."
My nomination for post of the day!
LOL! Iran complaining because the US invaded their diplomatic mission.... (chortle)
Let's hope this is a prelude to "taking care of the Iranian problem."
His choice of words is appropriate and accurate, actually. Rhetoric is what one practices when making a speech.
The sentence you quote can be restated as "Bush appears to be doing what he said he'd do."
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