Baghdad: Iraq has informed Iran that it
will not permit arms shipments to Syria to pass through or
over its territory, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said
on Saturday.
Baghdad informed Tehran through the Iranian ambassador
"that Iraq will not permit the use of its air space or its
territory for the transit of any arms cargo to Syria," Dabbagh
said in a statement.
"No cargo of arms nor munitions coming from any party
or country will pass the air space or borders of Iraq, and no
combatant from any side will have the right of passage to
Syria," he added.
Yesterday, the United States said it was concerned
about Iranian cargo flights over Iraq to Syria, saying it has
warned Iraq they might contain arms that could be used by
Damascus to crush protests.
"We are consulting with Iraq about them and we are
making the point that any export of arms or related materials
from Iran, frankly, to any destination would be a violation of
UN Security Council Resolution 1747," State Department
spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
The Iraqis were also being told "that any arms sent to
the Syrian regime at this time would obviously be used in the
brutal repression that the regime is exacting on its own
people." (AFP)
PTI
