U.S. contradicts Iraqi Foreign Minister on seized Iranians

WASHINGTON -- U.S.-led forces entered an Iranian building in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq because information linked the facility to Revolutionary Guards and other Iranian elements engaging in violent activities in Iraq, the State Department said Friday.

Deputy spokesman Tom Casey said there was no truth to reports that Iran was carrying out legitimate diplomatic activity at the site.

"It did not have the standing of a consulate nor did it have any other international diplomatic standing to speak of," Casey said.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been a key element of armed support for Iran's Islamic government since it took power in 1979.

Casey's comments contradict Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, who said Friday that the Iranians were working in a "liaison office" in Irbil that had government approval and was in the process of being approved as a consulate.

Iraqi and Iranian officials initially had said the Iranian office was a diplomatic mission, which would have raised questions about whether those detained Thursday had diplomatic immunity.

When pressed to describe the office, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said it was a "building that the Iranians were using, occupying, that was Iraqi territory."

Read the rest at the Washington Post

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