White House Concern Over Deployment of Iranian Trained Agents to Shiite Areas in Southern Iraq - 2003-04-23

The White House expresses concern over reports that Iranian-trained agents have recently been sent to the Shiite areas of southern Iraq, where they are attempting to establish friendly relations with Shiite clerics and advance the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This statement was made today by Ari Fleischer, spokesperson for President Bush, in response to questions from reporters regarding a report in the New York Times. The New York Times, citing unnamed American officials, states that members of the military wing of an Iraqi group based in Iran, known as the Badr Brigade, are among the agents of the Islamic Republic who have gone to southern Iraq. According to the New York Times, the Iranian government supports this group, which is based in Tehran, and trains its members. The report also mentions that American officials are concerned that some members of a special unit of the Revolutionary Guards may also be among the Iranian agents sent to Iraq. It is reported that these agents are active in the cities of Najaf, Basra, and Karbala, which are considered the main bases of Shiites in Iraq. The White House states that it opposes any foreign intervention in Iraq's movement towards democracy and categorizes the deployment of Iranian agents to Iraq as an attempt to destabilize the Shiite areas of the country. The New York Times writes that American officials are worried that the Iranian government may try to shape developments in southern Iraq according to its wishes and establish a model of the Iranian government in Iraq. Donald Rumsfeld, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, stated on Monday that such a model would contradict the democratic and pluralistic principles that the U.S. believes should be pursued by the new Iraqi government.