Saturday, April 17, 2004
Iranian delegation ends fact-finding mission to Iraq
AFP Bagdad, April 17
An Iranian fact-finding team ended its mission to Iraq on Saturady saying it had met with "all the parties,".But the Iranian delegation did not visit the holy city where Shi'ites are in a biter fray with the US-led troops.
"We met all the parties, Sunni as well as Shiite," the Iranian foreign ministry's director for Gulf affairs, Hossein Sadeghi, said before they returned home.
"We have had a brief assessment of the situation," said the official, who requested he not be named, adding that Tehran would hold future consultations with the various Iraqi parties.
He admitted the delegation did not make a planned visit to the southern holy city of Najaf where it was to have met with the highest Shiite authority, the Marjaiya, but not with firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.
A US-led force has been deployed in strength around Najaf where Sadr, who is wanted for the alleged murder of a rival cleric in Iraq last year, is holed up with his armed supporters.
On Thursday, an Iranian diplomat was gunned down in central Baghdad in a killing which Sadeghi said was "most certainly related" to their visit.
After having hinted the delegation might meet with Sadr, a delegation member had said, "We don't have a mandate to meet with him.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.