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Analysis: The Goods on Iran

Council on Foreign Relations

Updated: February 13, 2007
Prepared by: Lionel Beehner

Washington and Tehran appear poised for a confrontation. U.S. military officials presented evidence they say shows Iran’s government has been supplying weapons (NYT) to Iraqi Shiite extremist groups. The munitions include mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and armor-piercing explosive devices, called explosively formed penetrators (EFPs), all bearing serial numbers that U.S. officials claim link them to the Iranian regime. The Los Angeles Times offers photographs of the weapons. U.S. officials allege that Iran’s Qods Force—an elite component of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards—supplied the weapons, and that they were responsible for 170 American deaths and hundreds more casualties. This Backgrounder examines the role of Iran and its Qods Force in Iraq.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied the assertions in an ABC News interview, saying the U.S. charges were part of a case Washington is building to justify military action against his country. Some experts and lawmakers say the Bush administration needs a convenient scapegoat (NYT) and question the timing of the disclosure, given that the allegations of Iranian support for Iraqi militias stretch back to 2004. Georgetown University’s Paul R. Pillar downplays accusations that Tehran is directly orchestrating attacks against U.S. forces, while others say Washington is ignoring Saudi Arabia’s support (CSMonitor) for Sunni insurgents, who are responsible for a larger number of attacks against U.S. forces than Iranian-backed Shiite militias.

Reasons to avoid a direct military confrontation with Iran run the gamut (Economist).

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2007 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.