Monday, July 11, 2011

Panetta blames Iran for rise in Iraq violence



US defence secretary on Iraq visit says US to act "unilaterally" against what he said was Iran's arming of Shia groups.

Al-Jazeera

"US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said that his country will act "uniterally" to confront what he said were Iranian threats to US interests in Iraq.

Speaking during his first visit to Baghdad since taking office on July 1, Panetta said on Monday that the US was "very concerned about Iran and the weapons they are providing to extremists here in Iraq".

He blamed weapon supplies from Iran for the increase in violence in June, the deadliest month for US troops in Iraq in two years.

"In June we lost a hell of a lot of Americans as a result of those attacks. And we cannot just simply stand back and allow this to continue to happen," he said....."

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