Iran leader in landmark Iraq trip


The US accuses Iran of supporting Shia militants in Iraq


President's arrival

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has arrived in Baghdad on the first ever visit to Iraq by an Iranian president.
The visit marks the culmination of a process of normalisation between the two countries after the long war they fought in the 1980s.
Correspondents say the two-day visit is also a strong show of support for the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad.
Mr Ahmadinejad is meeting the Iraqi PM and president - both of whom have visited Iran.
The US is not involved in security for the visit and did not provide helicopters to transport Mr Ahmadinejad into central Baghdad.
Is it not funny that those with 160,000 forces in Iraq accuse us of interference


Mahmoud Ahmadinejad



Ahmadinejad's historic visit


Instead he had to travel by car along the usually dangerous road from the airport to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's residence near the US-controlled Green Zone.
He was warmly greeted by Mr Talabani as he walked down a red carpet, meeting members of the Iraqi government.
Mutual accusations
Security is heavy for the visit.

Mr Ahmadinejad was greeted by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani

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Iraqi patrols were said to be stationed every 100m along the airport road, which was closed for all other traffic.
The US has accused Iran of supporting Shia militants in Iraq, a charge Tehran denies.
Before leaving for Iraq, Mr Ahmadinejad laughed off the American accusations.
"Is it not funny that those with 160,000 forces in Iraq accuse us of interference?" he asked.
The US and Iran are also at odds over Iran's nuclear programme. Iran says its programme is for peaceful power generation only but the US and other Western countries fear Tehran is trying to build nuclear weapons.
The UN Security Council is currently considering new sanctions against Iran over the nuclear issue and a vote could take place as soon as Monday.
Complicated relationship
All this puts the Iraqi government nervously in the middle, allied to both the United States and Iran, says the BBC's John Leyne in Tehran.
Despite the reconciliation between Baghdad and Tehran, many analysts believe that in the long term, the two countries are destined to be rivals for regional power.
During the long war between them in the 1980s, many of the prominent Shia now in positions of power in Iraq fled to Iran as Saddam Hussein cracked down on internal dissent.
The US-led overthrow of Saddam's regime allowed them to return from exile.
Trade is now growing between the two countries and tourism, in the form of Iranian pilgrims visiting major Shia shrines in Iraq, is booming. Further complicating the relationship between the US, Iraq and Iran is the potential of Iran to be a US ally - against al-Qaeda and the Taleban in Afghanistan, says the BBC's Hugh Sykes in Baghdad. Shia Iran has little in common with the fundamentalist Wahhabists of the Taleban and al-Qaeda, he says.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid...st/7273431.stm