Zarqawi hoped to foment discord between Iran and US: Iraq

BAGHDAD: Al-Qaeda in Iraq planned to widen the rift between the United States and Iran with kidnappings and assassinations against US interests falsely attributed to Iran, the Iraqi government said .

Citing documents found in the Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s bombed safe house following his death in a US air strike, the prime minister’s office issued a statement outlining Zarqawi’s “plan of death and destruction”.

“It is not clear if America is truly an enemy of Iran because of the large support that Iran provided America in its wars against Afghanistan and Iraq,” said the document.

“On that basis, it is vital to work towards inflating the danger of Iran to America and show America and the West in general the real danger presented by Iran,” it added.

Earlier reports on the documents found at the safe house showed that Al-Qaeda was looking to stir up conflicts between the Shiites and US forces as well as between various Shiite leaders, but this is the first time there have been reports of contributing to the animosity between the US and Iran.

The documents suggesting fomenting discord between the nations by carrying out kidnappings and attacks on US targets in Iraq and publicly attributing them to the Iranians.

The group also planned to carry out terrorist attacks in the West and then leave evidence at the sites implicating the Iranians.

Zarqawi’s organization was also going to spread information that Iran had weapons of mass destruction, including biological and chemical weapons.

Iran and the United States have had testy relations for decades, exacerbated in recent months over Iran’s enrichment of uranium.