ZURBITIYAH, Iraq (AFP) — The commander of US forces in Iraq said during a tour of an Iraq-Iran border crossing Wednesday that Tehran was still training militants despite its pledge to cut support for the insurgency.
General David Petraeus said he was uncertain if supplies of weapons flowing into Iraq from Iran were decreasing, but that Iranian training of militants continued to pose a serious threat to Iraq's stability.
Asked whether Iran had stopped the flow of money and weapons into Iraq, Petraeus told reporters: "We honestly don't know, it is unclear. We do know that training (of Iraqi militants in Iran) has continued.
"It is at an important scale, because these are individuals with considerable skill who can train other individuals in Iraq," he said at the Zurbitiyah border post, which on Wednesday was crowded with Iranians on their way to this week's Shiite festival in the central Iraqi city of Karbala.
"It is a very unhelpful addition to the mix. We call it a lethal accelerant to a situation in Iraq that already has enough challenges."
US President George W. Bush said on Saturday after meeting Petraeus in Kuwait that Iran had to stop supporting the militia special groups that attack Iraqi and coalition forces.
"Iranian agents are in our custody, and we are learning more about how Iran has supported extremist groups with training and lethal aid."
Petraeus could not say whether the level of weapons coming into the country from Iran is rising or falling.
"The signature attacks that employ Iranian-provided weapons have decreased substantially," he told a small group of reporters accompanying him on his visit to the border post, which was lined with long queues of empty trucks waiting to cross to pick up goods on the other side.
"The EFPs (explosively formed penetrators) had been running at a low level until about the first 10 to 12 days of this month, when we saw a noticeable increase but, in the last several, days they have gone down again.
"We are uncertain if that was a trend or not, so we will just have to watch the scene for a while."
Petraeus was inspecting the border post at Zurbitiyah, east of Baghdad in Wasit province, where coalition forces established a presence two years ago in a bid to stop weapons and insurgents from slipping into Iraq.
New technology has been installed from mid-2007 at the post to screen trucks, luggage and people and further upgrades are on the way, US commanders said.
"It is one of the important border crossings which we have been putting a lot of effort into in the last six months," Petreaus said.
"All the people, baggage, vehicles and cargo are searched so we do think it has a deterrent effect. And it has made it more difficult for illegal contraband to come into Iraq."
The general spent time inspecting facilities at the desert-post, stopping to greet the long queues of Iranians crossing the border to reach Karbala for the three-day Shiite Muslim festival of Ashura.
Up to a million pilgrims are expected to descend on Karbala in time for the climax of the annual rituals on Saturday.
"Iraqis will be happy to see you; they need your trade," Petraeus told one group of pilgrims.
Speaking later at a stopover at a US military base near the city of Kut, 170 kilometres (110 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Petraeus told reporters religious tourism from Iran, such as what is taking place this week, is very important to improving relations between the neighbours.
"Not all Iranian influence is bad. There is nefarious Iranian influence and there is normal commercial activity, religious tours and academic exchanges.
"We share the concerns of Iraqi officials about a neighbour arming, funding training and equipping its citizens who then carry out acts of violence."
He could not give numbers of those believed being trained by the Iranians but said recent insurgents recently arrested had given a good insight into the extent of the operation.
"Even small numbers can be very important because they are capable of training others in the use of very lethal munitions," Petraeus said.
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