Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on an unprecedented visit to Iraq, was aiming to build ties with officials from a once-hated neighbor and to accuse the US of spreading terrorism.
The two-day visit was thick with symbolism as both the US and Iran seek to influence Iraq's future.
Ahmadinejad said talks on Sunday with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd who told the Iranian leader to call him "Uncle Jalal," were "brotherly."
Then Ahmadinejad cut through the US-controlled Green Zone to visit Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a fellow Shiite, at his Cabinet offices.
The sprawling Green Zone contains the core of the US diplomatic mission to Iraq -- including a massive new embassy -- and is heavily protected against occasional rocket attacks, which US officials have blamed on Iranian-backed Shiite extremists.
Ahmadinejad denied the charges at least twice during news conferences throughout Sunday.
"Six years ago, there were no terrorists in our region. As soon as the others landed in this country and the region, we witnessed their arrival and presence," he said on Sunday night after meeting Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of Iraq's largest Shiite political bloc.
Earlier, Ahmadinejad said that "such accusations increase the problems of the Americans in the region. The Iraqi people do not like the Americans."
The Iranian delegation seemed to enjoy the contrast between Ahmadinejad's visit and trips to Iraq by US President George W. Bush.
Ahmadinejad announced the dates of his visit in advance, landed at Baghdad International Airport in daylight and drove through the capital, albeit in a heavily guarded convoy, on a relatively quiet day. Iraqi forces provided security.
The Iranian leader also visited the holy Shiite shrine of Imam Mousa al-Kadim around midnight. He traveled in a motorcade under tight security through Baghdad's streets to the shrine in the northern Kazimiyah district, about 12km from al-Hakim's headquarters where he departed.
In contrast, Bush's visits are typically a surprise and involve trips mostly to US military bases, like his journey to an air base in Anbar Province last September.
The day before the Iranian president arrived, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, came to Baghdad unannounced to visit with commanders and Iraqi officials.
Bush on Saturday advised al-Maliki to tell Ahmadinejad to "quit sending in sophisticated equipment that's killing our citizens."
Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, a military spokesman, reiterated on Sunday that the US hoped the Iranian-Iraqi meetings produce "real and tangible results," which in the US view would include Iran ending its alleged training and funding of extremists.
The tone among Ahmadinejad and his Iraqi hosts, meanwhile, was more than cordial.
"We had very good talks that were friendly and brotherly," Ahmadinejad said after meeting with Talabani, who greeted him with an honor guard and a band that played both countries' national anthems. "We have mutual understandings and views in all fields, and both sides plan to improve relations as much as possible."
After a meeting involving Ahmadinejad, al-Maliki and their advisers, the Iraqi prime minister 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."
Ahmadinejad was set to meet with Talabani again yesterday before returning to Tehran.
Meanwhile, a car bomb killed at least 16 people and wounded 45 in central Baghdad yesterday, an Iraqi security official said.
The bomb detonated near a labor ministry building in a commercial area of the Bab al-Muazam neighborhood.
The wounded included ministry employees and students from the nearby Baghdad University, the official said.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS