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Rumsfeld Accuses Iran of Sending Elite Guards to Stir Trouble in Iraq

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday accused Iran of sending members of the elite Revolutionary Guard to create trouble in Iraq. Rumsfeld made the statement at a Pentagon news conference, referring to the Al Quds Division of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which has been tasked with defeating threats to the 1979 Islamic revolution. The accusation comes as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalate over the movement of explosives and bomb-making material across the border into Iraq. Rumsfeld's statement was echoed by Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who noted that there have been indications of Iranian weapons coming into Iraq.

Key Takeaways:

  • U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld accused Iran of sending members of the elite Revolutionary Guard to create trouble in Iraq.
  • The infiltrators are members of the Al Quds Division of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which has a mandate to defeat threats to the 1979 Islamic revolution.
  • Rumsfeld and other U.S. officials have previously complained of Iranian complicity in the movement of explosives and bomb-making material across the border into Iraq.
  • The accusation comes as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalate.
  • Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, echoed Rumsfeld's statement, noting that there have been indications of Iranian weapons coming into Iraq.
  • Rumsfeld rejected assertions by some that Iraq has slipped into a civil war, but acknowledged that "there has always been a potential for civil war" in Iraq.

Statistics:

  • Hundreds of Iraqis have been killed in violent reprisals between sects since the Feb. 22 bombing of a sacred Shiite shrine in Samarra.
  • The Al Quds Division of Iran's Revolutionary Guards is a network of soldiers and vigilantes.
  • Rumsfeld made the statement in a Pentagon news conference.
  • Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, echoed Rumsfeld's statement.

Sources:

  • Xinhua News Agency (Copyright 2006 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY)

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