Iran connection to bombs disclosed

Townhall:

High-tech roadside bombs that have proved particularly deadly to American soldiers are manufactured in Iran and delivered to Iraq on orders from the "highest levels" of the Iranian government, a senior intelligence officer said Sunday.

The officer, briefing reporters on condition he not be further identified, said that between June 2004 and last week, more than 170 Americans had been killed by the bombs, which the military calls "explosively formed projectiles."

Those weapons are capable of destroying an Abrams tank.

The officer said American intelligence analysts believe the EFPs are manufactured in Iran and smuggled into Iraq on orders from the top of the Iranian government. He did not elaborate.

U.S. officials have alleged for years that weapons were entering the country from Iran but had stopped short of alleging involvement by top Iranian leaders.

The U.S. officer said Iran was working through surrogates _ mainly "rogue elements" of the Shiite Mahdi Army _ to smuggle the EFPs into Iraq. He said most of the components are entering Iraq near Amarah, the Iranian border city of Meran, and the Basra area of southern Iraq.

The U.S. officer said American authorities had briefed Iraq's Shiite-led government on Iran's involvement and Iraqi officials had asked the Iranians to stop. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has said he told both the U.S. and Iran that he does not want his country turned into a proxy battlefield.

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Last week, U.S. officials said they were investigating allegations that the Shiite lawmaker Jamal Jaafar Mohammed, a member of the bloc that brought al-Maliki to power, was a main conduit for Iranian weapons. Mohammed has believed to have fled to Iran.

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During the briefing, the officer said that one of six Iranians detained in January in a raid on an office in the northern city of Irbil was the operational commander of the Quds Brigade, a unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that trains and equips Shiite militants abroad.

He was identified as Mohsin Chizari, who was apprehended after slipping back into Iraq after a 10-month absence, the officer said.

The Iranians were caught trying to flush documents down the toilet, he said. Bags of their hair were found during the raid, indicating they had tried to change their appearance, he added.

He said the dates of manufacture on weapons found so far indicate they were made after fall of Saddam Hussein _ mostly in 2006. He said the "machining" on the components was traceable to Iran but did not elaborate.

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The flight of the legislator appears to be something of an admission that there is merit to the charges. It is interesting to see a description of what the Iranians were doing when captured. It is unlikely they were destroying records of commercial transactions and visa applications. They probably represent a smoking gun on Iran's intentions in Iraq.

The disclosures of Iran's involvement is still somewhat disjointed. Apparently legislators who may have been skeptical have been shown physical evidence. Will they later deny its existence as they now deny the prewar Iraq intel? The lefty blogs are pumping out skepticism about the revelations. But, these people would deny their lying eyes if they saw it first hand or blame the US for inviting the Iranians in.

Bill Roggio has a pretty comprehensive look at the story on Iran's weapons in Iraq compiled from several different reports. Westhawk discusses why the focus on Iran is important to isolating the battlefield in Iraq.