U.S.’s Crocker gives details of meeting with Iran envoy

Iran Focus: London, May 31 – The United States ambassador to Iraq gave details of his meeting with his Iranian counterpart, the first official meeting held between Tehran and Washington in over 27 years. Iran Focus

London, May 31 – The United States ambassador to Iraq gave details of his meeting with his Iranian counterpart, the first official meeting held between Tehran and Washington in over 27 years.

Ryan Crocker told reporters on Tuesday, “We all agreed that the focus of our discussions were on Iraq only, and how we might support Iraq, its people, and its government in restoring security and stability to the country and furthering a political reconciliation process”.

While the atmosphere was cordial and business-like, both parties laid out principles, which guided respective polices toward Iraq, according to a news article posted on the website of the Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF-I) on Wednesday.

Crocker met Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, on Monday at Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s home.

“We made it clear from the American point of view that this is about actions, not just principles”, said Crocker. “I laid out before the Iranians a number of our direct specific concerns about [Iranian”> behaviour in Iraq”.

Iraqi and Coalition forces have frequently encountered militias armed with Iranian weapons and explosives, such as Explosively Formed Penetrators, during Iraq’s ongoing reconstruction efforts, the MNF-I said.

“We need to see Iranian actions on the ground come into harmony with their stated principles”, said Crocker. “The problem lies, in our view, with the Iranians not bringing their behaviour on the ground into line with their own policy”.

Al-Maliki extended an invitation for both the U.S. and Iranian delegates to meet again in the near future.

Kazemi Qomi, who was previously Iran’s charge d’affaires in Iraq, is a veteran officer of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and was once the IRGC’s liaison to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The main Iranian opposition movement, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, said earlier this week that Kazemi Qomi was currently an active member of the IRGC’s extra-territorial Qods Force.

At a press conference in London, the NCRI gave the names of several individuals working out of the Iranian embassy in Baghdad who “personally oversee the transfer of Explosively Formed Penetrators from Iran to Iraq”.