The New Nation - Internet Edition

Dr.Abdul Ruff

Leading a large delegation that included his Foreign Minister Mottaki, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived for two days on 02 February in Baghdad, a nation that was once Iran's bitter enemy. Iran and Iraq are both led by Shiite Muslims, though Iraq has more Sunnis than Iran. The two countries were hostile to each other and fought a long and destructive war during most of the 1980s, in part because of the border dispute, with the weapons purchased from USA and USSR, killing an estimated one million people. After murdering Saddam and overthrowing his regime, USA has established a Shite regime in Iraq by keeping puppets in power. It would take years for them to come to term with the reality and improve relations in real sense between them. Obviously encouraged indirectly by the occupying USA, Iran and Iraq have already begun talks on trade, energy cooperation and a long-running border row, though the two neighbours have yet to sign a peace treaty.

Ahmadinejad is the first Iranian president to visit Iraq. The Iranian leader went from Baghdad's airport to a meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd speaking fluent Farsi, who gave him a red-carpet welcome. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani welcomed Ahmadinejad with a guard of honor, as a military band played the national anthems of both nations. Talabani, who grinned broadly and eagerly shook Ahmadinejad's hand, called the visit "historic." Talabani's headquarters are located right across the Tigris River from the mammoth new U.S. Embassy in the fortified Green Zone, an area that has been repeatedly hit by mortar attacks, with the U.S. blaming Shiite militants. Apart from Iraqi President Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki-both of whom have visited Iran since taking office-Ahmadinejad also met with and Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh. After meeting with Ahmadinejad, al-Maliki said the visit was "an expression of the strong desire of enhancing relations and developing mutual interests after the past tension during the dictatorship era." Talabani called Ahmadinejad's visit "historic. The tone among Ahmadinejad and his Iraqi hosts was more than cordial. Ahmadinejad said talks on 02 March with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd who told the Iranian leader to call him "Uncle Jalal," were "brotherly."

President Mahmoud said his landmark visit to Iraq opened a new chapter in "brotherly" relations between the two countries, which were once bitter enemies. He said Iran wants to reopen the historical ties between these "brotherly" nations. The Iranian president said he was "truly happy" to be visiting an Iraq "without the dictator" Saddam Hussein. He said the people of Iraq were going through "tough" time. "It is friendly to all groups in Iraq. Isn't it ridiculous that those who have deployed 160,000 troops in Iraq accuse us of intervening there?" Ahmadinejad is quoted as saying. He sought to reassure Iraqis ahead of the trip that Iran is not fueling violence in Iraq. Iran has no need to intervene in Iraq. ".. the Iraqi people will overcome the situation and the Iraq of tomorrow will be a powerful, developed and unique Iraq," a smiling Ahmadinejad said. "A united, powerful and developed Iraq is in the interests of all countries of the region," he said.

While Iraq is largely Arab, Iran is mainly Persian. Iranian President hailed Iran and Iraq as world leaders in "justice and morality". Ahmadinejad's two-day trip illustrated one of the unintended consequences of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. "We believe that the major powers who have come to the region from thousands of kilometers away should respect the will of nations and leave this region. That's the best service they can offer these nations," the Iranian leader told reporters after meeting with Iraq's president. Iranian president said that six years ago there were none of these terrorists. When the others stepped foot in this country and region we find a foothold for the terrorists, referring to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraqi in 2003… Nations are dissatisfied with the rules that now dominate the world. They want justice. The nations of Iran and Iraq are front-runners in establishing justice, morality, kindness," he said in comments carried by Iranian state television.

The visit has given Ahmadinejad a chance to highlight the improved relationship his nation has with post-Saddam Hussein Iraq while also serving as an act of defiance toward the U.S., which accuses Iran of aiding Shiite extremists in Iraq. The Iran-brokered "truce" between the two Shiite heavyweights in Iraqi politics, the Mahdi Army and the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), is now history to prevent the shedding of Shiite blood back in August 2007. Iraqi prime minister told Ahmadinejad that Iran had "helped enormously with security and stability in Iraq". Iran is also helping Iraq to reduce its chronic shortage of electricity, with new transmission lines to the Iraqi national grid from power stations in Iran. Now Al Maliki wants to regain a majority in Parliament the Shiite bloc of Sadr and SIIC that would make Al Maliki's supporters a total of 156, re-gaining a majority. The man to thank for all of this is Ahmadinejad.

Addressing a news-conference, Ahmadinejad said: "We have had good talks in a friendly and construction environment. We have the same understanding of things and the two parties are determined to strengthen their political, economic and cultural co-operation. We have had good talks in a friendly and constructive environment. We have the same understanding of things and the two parties are determined to strengthen their political, economic and cultural co-operation." The news conference appeared to end abruptly after a reporter asked Ahmadinejad about the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, which was allied with Saddam during the bitter 1980s war between the two countries. The group has opposed Iran's Islamic republic and has operated out of Iraq. The U.S. and European Union list it as a terrorist organization. Talabani interjected, saying: "This issue has been discussed earlier and the presence of those as a terrorist organization is constitutionally not allowed. We will endeavor to get rid of them out of the Iraqi territory soon."

The Iranians are worried that sometime in the near future, they might lose their Hezbollah ally in Lebanon. All countries that have a significant Shiite population, like Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, are off-limits for the Iranians because they would be too difficult to penetrate. Iran thinks Iraq is ripe, however, for another Hezbollah. This visit creates background for the future course in that direction. In mainly Sunni Arab Falluja west of Baghdad, protesters marched through the city waving banners saying "Get your non-Arab hands off Iraq". In the holy city of Najaf, historically the centre of Shi'ite learning, Ahmadinejad's trip was welcomed. Ahmadinejad, a Shiite himself, visited the shrine of Imam Mouse al-Kati around midnight. He travelled in a motorcade under tight security through Baghdad's streets to the shrine in the northern Kazimiyah district.

The first visit by an Iranian president since the 1979 Islamic revolution aimed to boost business, political and cultural ties with its immediate neigbor Iraaq, now under occupation by US-led forces. According to Iraqileaders, the visit benefits the nation of Iraq as it strengthens the relations between the two countries. Iraqi officials said up to 10 bilateral accords would be signed soon on behalf of the ministries of transport, including railways and freight and sea transport. Today trade between them is brisk. Iran on March 01 announced that it would export 200 megawatts of power to its neighbor Iraq from next week. Speaking to reporters here, Iran's Energy Minister Parviz Fattah said power exports would be possible after connection of power networks in Iran's western city of Abadan to Iraqi city of Basra. Millions of Iranian pilgrims travel to major Shiite shrines in Iraq, and Iran is building a major airport for pilgrims to fly to Shiite shrines in Najaf and Karbala.

The visit is a strong show of support for the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad. he hoped it would decrease tension between the two countries. His visit sends a clear message to Iraqis that the Iranian influence in the country is significant and enduring. Iran wants to be seen to be playing a positive role in Iraq, which the United States can ill afford to isolate or ignore and Ahmadinejad made it clear he believes Iranian and Iraqi stability are mutually dependent. His trip was as much about symbolism as it will be about cementing economic and political ties between Iran and Baghdad's Shia-led government as well as an attempt to improve the security situation in Iraq. The trip is also a strong show of support by Tehran for the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nora al-Maliki.

A vehement U.S. critic, Ahmadinejad's visit to Shiite-majority Iraq is set to underline Western concerns about Iranian influence in the region that Washington alleges extends to aiding militants in Iraq and also destabilizing Lebanon. It not only highlights his country's growing influence on its Arab neighbor in the post-Saddam Hussein era, but it also serves as an act of defiance toward the U.S. It will be closely watched by the US that refuses to vacate Iraq and Afghanistan. Iraqi officials have urged Washington and Tehran, which have not had diplomatic ties for almost three decades, not to use Iraq as a proxy battleground to fight out their differences, which include a row over Iran's nuclear ambitions. Iran also has ample instability to contend with already - to the east, across the border in Afghanistan. There has been a lot of symbolism during this visit, and not a lot of substance. But at the same time, he doesn't want to threaten the Iraqis or Gulf States who fear that Iraq will be an Iranian satellite.

Ahmadinejad also should be trying to use his historic Iraqi visit to bolster his support back home. His performances in and out of Iran are seen as referendum on the Iranian president, who has come under criticism from all sides in his country for spending too much time on anti-Western rhetoric and not enough on economic problems plaguing the country. The Iranian president may welcome a foreign policy success to distract attention from the economy and double-digit inflation before a March parliamentary election that will test his popularity and indicate his chance for re-election in 2009.

However, what matters for Iran is that all indicators point to the seriousness of an upcoming US offensive on Tehran, although the UNSC sanctions against have been shelved for the time being at the instance of Russia and China. The US game-pan in West Asia has always worried the nations there. As it is known, Afghanistan and Iraq continue to reel and pose threat to US supremacy.

US president Bush seems to consider now, after ignoring it for too long, the advice of a section of Washington based strategists to go for rapprochement with Iran and Syria in order to solve the Iraqi explosive situation and shift the military equipment to Afghanistan to concentrate on Muslims fighting the invaders there. This offers credence to the belief that US is encouraging Iran-Iraq rapprochement, though they have not shelved invasion of Iran.