Bloomberg, Oct. 1, 2008 (excerpts) — Iranian support for Shiite militia groups poses the biggest threat to long-term stability in Iraq, where recent improvements in security are “fragile,” the U.S. Defense Department said.

Iran continues to “fund, train, arm and direct” groups intent on destabilizing its neighbor and its influence in Iraq is “malign,” the Pentagon said in its quarterly report to Congress.

The Bush administration has repeatedly accused Iran of training and financing insurgents in Iraq and stoking violence between the country’s Shiite and Sunni Muslim communities. The Islamic Republic denies the allegations and blames the U.S.-led military occupation for creating conflict among Iraqis.

Iran shares a 1,458-kilometer (906-mile) border with Iraq and both have Shiite Muslim majorities.

The two states fought an eight-year war in the 1980s and have increased political and economic ties since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein’s Sunni Muslim-led regime.

Iranian support for militants “remains a principle reason for continued violence” in Iraq, the Pentagon said.

Mahdi Army
Iran is providing refuge and support to elements of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia that are resisting his calls to stop fighting, according to the report.

Between June and August there were 29 deaths blamed on sectarian violence in Baghdad, the lowest level on record, the Pentagon said. That compares with more than 1,200 deaths in the same period in 2007, according to the report.