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Council for the Islamie Revolution in Iraq, was formed in Iran in the 1980s dunng Saddanfs persecution of Iraąi Shiites. Abdul Aziz Hakim, head of the party, has received funding from Iran and met several times with Iratfs supremę leader, Ayatollah Ali KhameneL Some Iran specialists in Washington say the new political realities in the region will force Iran and th^rBfiiited States to work toward friendlier rśla-tions based on newfound common in-terests, such as stability in lraq. But Ira-nian eziles, longtime enemies of Tehran, say the situation can only get worse. '

“It is safe to say that the No. l benefi-ciary of the Iraq war unwittingly was* the nindamentalist regimein Iran," said

k Safavi “It goes without saying that if, in rfact, the Iranian clerics succeed in their ^|{^m* the whole region will be in a lot of ...troiible because you would have not : .one, but two fundamentalist regimes.”

The BostonGłobe

V-v' Annę Barnard contributed to this re-^: part from Baghdad.

•    *    * .    •    . + • p_%* •:' y

The Iranian • Embassy in Baghdadl^The occupiers are the ones who should said Sunday that Jihani, the diplo^tv^ ieave Najaf and the rest of Iraq." had dropped from sight Wediiesday^as Six ezplosions boomed across central he was traveling from Baghdad tótafc&^Raghdad on Sunday, sending plumes of up his new post of consul in Karbala.    smoke into the air. One blast hit a truck

The video from the Islamie Armyin y traveling on a cify-center Street, setting Iraq, which was reported to have killed ; i^: it ablaze and causing casualties, offi-two Pakistani hostages last. month, cials said. The blast, apparently from a showed a bearded man wearing a.Whit^ -rdeket or mortar, collapsed part of a shirt in front of a black bańner l^a^g®%ll of a nearby house, and there were the group’s name.-;j^^>%f|^^bioodśtains on the Street Shrapnel also “The group also warned Iran a^instfc smashed the Windows of a nearby car, flagrant interference in the affairs_: of the seat of which was covered in blood.

Iraq,” the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya channel said Sunday. It did not mention any threats against the hostage. y.'$-Iraqi and U.S. officials are .uneasy about attempts by Iran, a predominantly Shiite nation, to gain influence among

neighboring Iraq’srestive Shiites.__T    ..

ⁿ    .......    , wounded 23, the Health Mimstry said.

Many Sunni Iraqis are deepły wor- J’;Farther south inQurnah, 380 kilome-

ried about the rising power of the long-    ters, or 235 miles, sóutheast of Baghdad,

suppressed Shiite majority. r. .;_s^:; o'-/-gunnien ambushed a Danish patrol, a

Allawi’s one-hour visit tó Najaf tobk. VnDanish military spokesman, Jan Brink,

place under heavy security, with 100U.S.-ysąid. The Danes, who have 496 soldiers

soldiers, foreign security contractofs, inlraq, retumed fire and withdrew, suf-

Iraqi National Guard troops and Iraqi ' fering no casualties, he said.

police officers protecting him and a del- ; ^r ' Recent clashes have threatened to re-

egation that included Interior Minister<vivea Shiite uprising that broke out in

Falah al-Naqib, Defense^ Minister v April and was calmed only in early June

Hazem Shaalan and the ńationail:sjaci^-;^!^'-? ^ser^^es of truces. The military says

ty adyiser; Mowaffak al-Rubaie. _:.*i*V^|:VS^ndreds of militants have been killed

A government deadline for-ii^iUn^^lti':the latest yiolence, though the mili-

to withdraw from Najaf ezpired Satur- ;.; tiamen put the number far lower.

day, but gunmen — masketf carryingj’    iAllawi signed an amnesty law for

automatic rifles and rocket launchers, ; minor criminals on Saturday, intended

and manning checkpoints in the old' ' tó persuade some militants to put down

city — showed no signs Sunday ^of ^jffieir weapons. On Sunday, the govem-

pulling out.    ;{^.<v^;y!>^ nient announced the new death penalty,

Sadr’s organization, called the Mahdi ^ but insisted it would not be used to pun-

Army, also Controls the' Imam AU^;; ish political opponents.

Shrine compound, one of ;the« ^ihx>ś|v^_;S••'This is not an open door to ezecute

reyered sites in Shiite Islam, where the^ ianyone and everyone, or people whom

remains of Imam Ali, son-in-law- ąnd ^J the government dislikes,” Minister of

cousin of Islanf^pro^iet, Muhammad, y : Sute Adnan al-Janabi said. “This is not

are buried.    . • Uy.-of^Saddanfs law.”

“We think that those armed should-,It' was unclear how the new death

leave the holy sites as well as leave their    penalty law would effect Saddam, who is

Weapons and abide by the law,” Allawi»'■ '-awaiting trial on war crimes charges, or

said. .    .. . v v 'i! whether the death penalty would apply

Fierce fighting between UiS.\ forc^JCto'- people who had committed crimes

during its suspension. (Reuters, AP)

and the Mahdi Army raged in Najaf on Thursday and Friday andsporadie fighting continued Saturday and Sunday.

Allawi denied that the govemmeńt wanted to arrest Sadr and ezpressed optimism that the yiolence would    _c

"The situation will be defused soon,”' he said, before retuming to Baghdad Allawi's delegation did not meet with Sadr or any of his aides, who remained defiant

“We are trying to defend our country," said an aide to Sadr in Baghdad. “We are not going to leave Najaf or any other city.

Iran envoy is seized by Iraqi rebels

lYom news report*

BAGHDAD: Militants in Iraq kid-napped an Iranian diplomat Sunday as Iraq’s interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, madę an unannounced visit to the war-tom city of Najaf, calling on militants to lay down their weapons after days of fierce clashes with U.S. forces.

The kidnapped Iranian diplomat was identified as Faridoun Jihani, the con-sul to the Iraqi city of Karbala, accord-ing to video shown on the Al-Arabiya television station.

The kidnappers, who called them-selves the Islamie Army in Iraq, accused Jihani of having provoked sectarian war in a country deepły divided between the resurgent Shiite Muslim majority and the traditionally dominant Sunni Muslim minority, and they wamed Iran that it should not interfere in Iraq’s af-fairs, according to Al-Arabiya.

They did not appear to threaten Jihani and madę no demands, according to the report

Meanwhile, Iraq has issued an arrest warrant for Ahmad Chalabi, a former member of the Goveming Council, on counterfeiting charges, Iraq’s chief in-yestigating judge said Sunday. (Page 5)

The developments came as Iraqi security forces battled guerrillas loyal to the militant Shiite elerie Moktada al-Sadr and as Allawi met with Najaf s govemor, Adnan al-Zurufl At least two Iraqi national guardsmen were killed and 13 people were wounded during fighting in the holy Shiite city, wit-nesses and hospital officials said.

As part of its efforts to put down the 15-month-old insurgency, the govem-ment announced Sunday that it was re-instating the death penalty, which had been suspended during the U.S. occu-pation.

“The tough task in front of us in this country is maintaining security and stability, combating terror and oigan-ized crime,” Humań Rights Minister Bakhtiar Amin said.

“I assure you that nonę of us in the government are comfortable with rein-stating Capital punishmenL”

The police on the scene said there were casualties but could not say how many.

la the Southern city of Amarah, Sadr’s militants clashed with the police Vin a gun battle that killed four Iraqis and

TT-." l\

International Herald Tribune

Monday_f August 9,2004