International

U.S. Accuses Iran of Arming Iraqi Insurgents

By Mike Shuster

Published April 11, 2007 at 1:00 PM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

For the first time today, the U.S. military has accused Iranian intelligence of providing weapons and support to Sunni insurgents in Iraq. Over the past few months, the United States has on several occasions accused Iran of smuggling weapons into Iraq, mostly for the use of Shiite militias.

U.S. spokesmen now say the weapons are going to both Sunni and Shiite militants.

Iran is a Shiite Muslim nation that has shown long-standing support for Iraqi Shiite political forces. In making their accusations today, U.S. military officials displayed Iranian weapons that they said were seized this week — apparently destined for Sunnis, the enemies of Iran's Shiite allies in Iraq.

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International

Mike Shuster

Mike Shuster is an award-winning diplomatic correspondent and roving foreign correspondent for NPR News. He is based at NPR West, in Culver City, CA. When not traveling outside the U.S., Shuster covers issues of nuclear non-proliferation and weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the Pacific Rim.

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