"No political cooperation between Moqdata Sadr, Iran"
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
IranMania News
BEIRUT, Nov 5 (AFP) - Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr said there is no political coordination between him and Iran, while also indirectly criticizing anti-US attacks, in a interview published Wednesday.
"There is no political coordination with Iran's leaders whatsoever," Sadr told the Lebanese daily As-Safir.
"Rumors on the existence of such relation only aim to equate us with Lebanon's Hezbollah (Shiite fundamentalist group), and then point a finger at us so that local and foreign forces turn against us," he added.
Iran is a predominantly Shiite country and, along with Syria, is a backer of Hezbollah.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in April, US and British officials have fired off a string of allegations against Iran for allegedly undermining post-war reconstruction efforts.
In particular, coalition forces point to what they say is Iran's support for Shiite militia groups as particular cause for concern.
On Sunday, Iran's foreign ministry repeated denials that Tehran was allowing anti-US and British fighters to cross from its soil into Iraq.
Sadr also criticized anti-American attacks, saying "the end result in the last six months is not worth the damage caused to people."
"Besides, the fact that the resistance's goals and those of its supporters are unclear gives rise to suspicions," he told the paper.
"The resistance's weakness and the fact that it is limited to certain geographical areas have given it a particular political hue that does not represent all Iraqis," said the firebrand cleric.
The majority of attacks carried out against the US-led coalition, which has been administering Iraq since last April, have been concentrated in and around Baghdad as well as in Sunni areas in the north-central part of the country.
"Our choice is to struggle pacifically and legally so as to obtain a withdrawal timetable and be able to choose a national government that represents our people," he said.
Asked about squirmishes between his followers and US troops, he said "the occupation forces have attacked some of our offices and forcefully dispersed peaceful demonstrations."
Sadr issued a statement Monday calling for US troops in Iraq to unite with the Iraqi people to avoid "spilling blood."
"It is important to avoid spilling blood, aggression, wars and terrorism to sanctify the fraternity between the two peoples," read the statement obtained by AFP.
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=19421&NewsKind=Current%20AffairsSo, there are no political coordination between Moqdata "the thug" Sadr and Iran?
Iran greets Iraqi Shia militant
By Sadeq Saba
BBC Iranian analyst
The Iranian Government has invited a militant Iraqi Shia leader, Moqtada Sadr, to the country despite warnings from the US that Iran should stop meddling in Iraqi affairs.
The US is concerned about Iranian influence in Iraq
The official Iranian news agency said Mr Sadr was visiting Iran to take part in a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic regime.
But there are far wider political implications.
Mr Sadr is one of the most radical Shia clerics in Iraq.
Unlike most other Islamic leaders, he has defended the idea of an Iranian-style theocracy in Iraq.
In his Friday sermons at the Kufa mosque near Najaf, he has repeatedly called for a ban on alcohol and for the veiling of women.
Such statements are music to the ears of Iran's ruling clerics.
[Mr Sadr's] visit to Iran could also mean that the Iranian Government is trying to unite Iraq's rival Shia groups to enable them to have more influence in their country
Iraqis fear rise of clerics
His armed group, known as Jamaat al-Sadr al-Thani, is believed to have been behind several anti-American demonstrations in Baghdad.
Moqtada Sadr's followers were blamed for the killing in April of a leading Shia cleric, Abdul Majid al-Khoei - a charge he strongly denies.
His group again angered the Shia community by surrounding the house of Iraq's most senior Shia cleric, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, ordering him either to pledge allegiance to their leader or leave the country.
Official praise
Mr Sadr, who is only about 30 years old, is influenced by Ayatollah Kazem Haeri, a conservative cleric based in the Iranian Shia centre of Qom.
Mr Sadr's visit to Iran could provide further reason for Washington to suspect that Iran is seeking to undermine its military presence in Iraq by supporting militant anti-American clerics.
Mr Sadr has already met Iran's powerful former President, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and the official Iranian news agency has praised him as one of the most influential Iraqi clerics.
The Sadr group has been at odds with another Iraqi Shia organisation, the Iranian-backed Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
So his visit to Iran could also mean that the Iranian Government is trying to unite Iraq's rival Shia groups to enable them to have more influence in their country.
source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2975340.stm