US says it captured Iranian officials in Iraq
The American military is holding at least four Iranians in Iraq, including men the Bush administration called senior military officials, who were seized in a pair of raids late last week aimed at people suspected of conducting attacks on Iraqi security forces, according to senior Iraqi and American officials in Baghdad and Washington.
The Bush administration made no public announcement of the politically delicate seizure of the Iranians, though in response to specific questions the White House confirmed Sunday that the Iranians were in custody.
Gordon D. Johndroe, the spokesman for the National Security Council, said two Iranian diplomats were among those initially detained in the raids. The two had papers showing that they were accredited to work in Iraq, and he said they were turned over to the Iraqi authorities and released. He confirmed that a group of other Iranians, including the military officials, remained in custody while an investigation continued, and he said, \ufffd\ufffd\ufffdWe continue to work with the government of Iraq on the status of the detainees.\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd
Not a big surprise, the only thing I see as interesting was that Iran was bold enough to put them in Baghdad itself.
The situation is very politically sensitive, for several reasons. The Iraqi government is somewhat upset that this was done without telling them, both because they don't like surprise raids in Baghdad and because they are trying to open relations with Iran. The US is being careful because it isn't 100% clear they where doing anything illegal. And the Iranians want their people back without creating an international incident that would interfere with their political nuclear maneuvering.
Jay
