US grudgingly acknowledges fewer Iran-made bombs in Iraq

Nick Juliano
Raw Story
Friday November 2, 2007

Military commanders in Iraq are seeing fewer Iranian-made bombs targeting US troops although they remain skeptical to Tehran's claims it is deescalating its support to Iraqi insurgents and militias.

US generals believe it is "too early to tell" whether the nearly 50 percent drop in explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) found in Iraq in recent months indicates a significant reduction in Iranian aid to groups targeting US troops there. From a high point of 99 in July, the number of EFPs found in Iraq dropped to 53 last month, the Washington Post reported Friday.

Iran's leaders -- facing increased antagonism from the United States over their alleged role in aiding Iraq's insurgency -- have pledged they will try to stop the flow of weapons across the border between the two countries, but the Pentagon remains skeptical whether Tehran will stick to those promises.

"I don't know whether to believe them," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters Thursday. He added, "It's too early to tell," whether the observed drop in EFPs marks a significant reduction in the flow of bombs from Iran into Iraq.

Since this summer, anti-Iran hawks within the Bush administration have been building a case against the regime based on allegations it is aiding Iraqi insurgents. When military and diplomatic leaders testified on Capitol Hill in September, Iran's alleged involvement in Iraq caused some lawmakers to push for an expansion of US military might into Iran.

Iran has officially denied sending weapons into Iraq, and said it is not involved in the deaths of any US troops there.

"The Islamic republic has no role in killing American soldiers in Iraq," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency this week. "The American government lies to its citizens in this regard," he added.

Pentagon chief Gates told reporters that the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameni, is "probably" aware of the flow of weapons across the border. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Iran has not shown "any willingness to play a positive role in Iraq."

US troops uncovered one of the largest caches of EFPs in Iran a week ago, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, said in a videoconference from Baghdad, but those stockpiles could have predated an agreement between Tehran and Baghdad to staunch the flow of weapons.

"In terms of Iran ... it's unclear yet to me whether they have slowed down bringing in weapons and supporting the insurgency or not," said Odierno, who oversees day-to-day military operations in Iraq. "I'll wait and see."

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