U.S.-led forces show evidence of Iranian arms in Iraq

Sun. 11 Feb 2007
By Ibon Villelabeitia

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces in Iraq presented on Sunday what officials said was "a growing body" of evidence of Iranian weapons being used to kill their soldiers, as U.S. anger at Tehran's alleged involvement in the war rises.

A senior defense official from the U.S.-led Multinational Force in Baghdad told a briefing that 170 coalition forces had been killed by Iranian-made roadside bombs known as explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) that he said were smuggled into Iraq.

Officials showed journalists fragments of what they said were Iranian-manufactured weapons, including one part of an EFP -- which is strong enough to penetrate the armor of an Abrams tank -- and tail fins from 81 mm and 60 mm mortar bombs."The weapons had characteristics unique to being manufactured in Iran ... Iran is the only country in the region that produces these weapons," the senior defense official said.

"We assess these activities are coming from the highest levels of the Iranian government," said one of the officials, a senior defense analyst, referring to the training and funding of Iraqi militant groups.

Tehran denies the charge and blames American soldiers for the violence and for inflaming tensions between Shi'ites and once-dominant Sunni Arabs."We are a friend of Iraq. We have common culture and history, and Iraq's stability, security and integrity, means Iran's stability, security and integrity,"

The officials also said Iran had several surrogate groups operating in Iraq using the EFPs, among them rogue elements of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army, to whom Iran was supplying weapons and guerrilla warfare training. More...

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From what I understand, Iran (Persia) never really got along with other muslim/arab countries.

It has been established & now confirmed that Iran has their hands in every conflict taking place in the Middle East.