Iran Toying With Iraq Security Talks

In an interview , Crocker said a steady stream of public statements from clerical and political figures in Tehran make it clear that Iran is interfering in the bilateral negotiations between Iraq and the United States. The talks must conclude by the end of 2008.

The ambassador said Iran wants to keep Iraq "off-balance" to be able to control events in its Arab neighbor to its satisfaction.

The new agreement would govern the long-term status of U.S. forces in Iraq and replace a temporary UN Security Council resolution

.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker on Thursday accused Iran of "pushing very hard" to derail a security agreement that would authorize American troops to remain in Iraq past Dec. 31.

Crocker also speculated that Iran may be tightening its ties to Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq and co-opting them from anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada Sadr, who for the last year has ordered his followers to largely refrain from violence. He said Iran has a history of using members of political or other opposition groups in other countries to its advantage.

"I think what we may be seeing is a situation in which these groups or their successors are far more tightly linked to Tehran and perhaps less linked to Sadr," Crocker said in an interview.

That could mean a resurgence of militia activity if fighters decide the time is right. Coming at a time of increasing Iraqi government sovereignty and declining American power here, and with provincial elections planned by Jan. 31 and national elections next year, there is plenty at stake, particularly in the oil-rich south where Shiite parties with strong Iranian links will vie for power.

A United Nations mandate authorizing the U.S. troop presence in Iraq expires at the end of this year. Crocker said he was convinced the Iraqi government and people would not put up with Iranian meddling after the bloodshed of March and April, when hundreds died in clashes between Shiite militias and Iraqi and U.S. forces in a government crackdown.

The U.S. military says it has arrested five Iranian-backed Shiite extremists accused in recent rocket attacks on Iraqi and American forces.