In a report, U.S. Council of Foreign Relations, announced: Iran’s Shadow is spread over recent Iraq’s bloody confrontations.
Part of the report reads: After Iran reportedly vowed to cut off the flow of weapons and militants to Iraq in late 2007, and a subsequent wait-and-see attitude (CSMonitor) from Washington, U.S. officials have once again turned to blaming Tehran for Baghdad’s woes (BBC) .

Black smoke swirled over central Baghdad on March 23, disturbing the fragile calm of the Iraqi capital. The attack on the Green Zone, which killed at least 13 Iraqis (NYT) , was followed by the eruption of internecine Shiite violence in Baghdad’s Sadr City and the southern oil port of Basra. Taken together the attacks renewed fears that a year of reduced violence, attributed in part to a beefed-up U.S. presence and a Shiite militia cease-fire, had ended. But in the eyes of U.S. military officials the attacks also highlighted another aspect of Iraq’s security roller coaster: Iran’s complicity in the conflict.

The report added: Those pointing to Iranian meddling say Tehran’s activities undermine U.S. and Iraqi interests. Katzman argues Iran’s aid to Shiite militias has “accelerated competition among Shiite factions in southern Iraq,” as evidenced by recent violence in Basra. Iranian support has even prompted an anti-Iran backlash (WashPost) from disenfranchised Iraqi Shiite civilians, added the report.
Rear Adm. Greg Smith, a U.S. military spokesman, says “Iran has influenced ” the violence in recent months.