Iraqi Ja'fari Shi'i official interviewed warns against Iran role in Gulf

Text of report by Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Watan website on 2 August

[An exclusive interview with Riza al-Riza, secretary general of the Iraqi Authority for Ja'fari Shi'is, by Ahmad Zakariyah; date not given: "Al-Riza warns against Iran's intelligence activities"]

Riza al-Riza, secretary general of the Iraqi Authority for Ja'fari Shi'is, asserted that relations between Kuwait and Iraq need more efforts to step over the aftermaths of the past. In an exclusive interview with Al-Watan, Al-Riza regarded that Kuwait's invasion was a fatal mistake and a historic foolishness against the Kuwaiti people who love his land and leadership. He demanded the start of establishing new ties based on mutual respect, international legitimacy, and keeping out any factors that are likely to mar the relationship between the two countries.

On the Iranian dossier, Al-Riza said that Iran is going ahead in swallowing Iraq as it did when it swallowed the three UAE islands as he put it. Al-Riza also warned against Iran's intelligence activities in Iraq and its efforts aimed at nationalizing and resettling millions of its citizens in Iraq. Following is the text of the interview:

[Zakariyah] How do you assess the current Kuwaiti-Iraqi relations?

[Al-Riza] I think that bilateral relations need more efforts to step over the aftermaths of the past. They are also in need of a strategic planning in order to build a solid relationship between the two brotherly nations and to rule out any factors that are likely to mar the relationship between the two countries.

Aftermaths of Invasion [Subhead]

[Zakariyah] Do the effects of Saddam's invasion of Kuwait still play a role in the relationship between the two countries?

[Al-Riza] Kuwait's invasion was a serious mistake and a historic foolishness against the Kuwaiti people who are proud of their land and leadership. The allegation that there are obligations that should be met by Kuwait as Iraq did is meaningless because Kuwait was committed and is committed - as it has always been - , to carrying out its national duties and responsibilities towards the protection of the region. Consequently, we should not listen to these strange Iraqi voices which want to keep Iraq captive in the bottom of darkness and negligence. We should not also hold the Iraqi people responsible for an individual decision made by the former regime. The more important criterion for any future relationship between two neighbourly people is the prevalence of the spirit of reason, responsibility, wisdom, and cooperation.

[Zakariyah] What do you suggest to bolster relations between the two countries?

[Al-Riza] The Kuwaiti and Iraqi people should start establishing new ties for a new history strengthened by the principles of law, international legitimacy, and mutual respect to ensure welfare for the two countries.

The Iranian Role [Subhead]

[Zakariyah] Why do you always criticize the Iranian role in Iraq and the Gulf?

[Al-Riza] Every day we see a successful step taken by the Iranian regime in Iraq on the way of swallowing it as Iran did in terms of the three UAE islands after the British withdrawal from the Gulf. In the beginning of occupation, Iran opened all its border outlets with Iraq and allowed infiltrators into Iraq with the help of parties and organizations so that Iran can control the three branches of power in Iraq.

Iran had established institutions and communities under the cover of humanitarian and relief activities to keep away the entire honourable patriots opposing the resettlement and expansionist role played by Iran. This role was carried out through nominating officers in the Interior Ministry from the parties loyal to the Iranian regime. These officers have already been granted ranks and were later asked to prepare forged lists of people who were not registered in the Iraqi Citizenship Departments but rather were elements of the Iranian Intelligence Service, the Revolutionary Guards, and the Lebanese Hezbollah.

One of the most significant objectives of this Iranian resettlement scheme was to increase the number of those who got the Iraqi citizenship to over four million Iranians. Furthermore, there is a plan aiming at building housing units for the nationalized people in Al-Dujayl and Samarra over the next four years.

Furthermore, the Revolutionary Guards' activity made Iraq an invulnerable arena to Iran, which turned out to be the most powerful player in Iraq. Iran is also going forward in its attempts of carrying out dirty operations targeting its rivals from the Arab patriotic Shi'is opposed to the Iranian subordination that seeks to wipe out Iraq's identity, dismember Iraq's Arabs, and make them a neglected minority.

After Iraq's occupation, Iran became a rising power in the region and knew how to turn Mesopotamia into a slaughterhouse for slaughtering the Iraqi people, including the Arab Shi'is and Sunnis; the Christians; the Chaldeans; the Assyrians; the Sa'ibahs; and the Yazidis.

Iran and the Gulf [Subhead]

[Zakariyah] Does the Iranian danger transgress Iraq's borders to reach Gulf States, including Kuwait?

[Al-Riza] Yes, the Iraqi Authority for Ja'fari Shi'is had continuously warned against the danger of the Iranian regime's interferences in the Gulf, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Jordan.

[Zakariyah] Do you want to add something?

[Al-Riza] Among the different components and groups of the Shi'is, we find no one hostile to the Arabs but the Safavids who managed to penetrate many Gulf societies and their institutions.

Source: Al-Watan website, Kuwait, in Arabic 2 Aug 08