Mattis claims poll interference
WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis has accused Iran of funnelling money into Iraq to sway the outcome of its elections, calling it part of a broader pattern of destabilising Iranian actions across the Middle East.
Mr Mattis declined to say what outcome Iran is aiming for by allegedly interfering in Iraq, but he said Tehran is sending “not an insignificant amount of money” there to sway votes. He mentioned no dollar amounts.
Iran is widely seen as gaining more influence in Iraq during its period of instability following the takeover of much of northern and western Iraq by Islamic State (IS) militants in 2014. The IS has since been largely defeated, but Iraqi political stability still hangs in the balance.
“We have worrisome evidence that Iran is trying to influence — using money — the Iraqi elections,” Mr Mattis told reporters flying with him to Washington from the Persian Gulf island state of Bahrain, where he discussed Iran and other issues with senior government officials.
“That money is being used,” he said, “to sway candidates, to sway votes ... not an insignificant amount of money, we believe, and it’s highly unhelpful. We know that they are doing what they can to impact the elections, and we don’t like it.”
Iran’s political influence in Iraq has grown since the US invaded to remove Saddam Hussein in 2003, marking the start of a prolonged period of sectarian division, extremist violence and political strife.
The US still has more than 5,000 troops in Iraq supporting its fight against remaining pockets of IS resistance. Iranian-backed Shia militia groups also have fought the IS, sometimes in coordination with Baghdad and sometimes not.
Mr Mattis sharply criticised what he termed Iranian meddling elsewhere in the Middle East. He said Tehran is providing ammunition and explosives to fighters in Syria, and supporting rebels in Yemen.
He said the strait between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, off the coast of southern Yemen, is being used as a “proving ground” for advanced Iranian weaponry. This includes anti-ship missiles, radars, mines, ballistic missiles and explosive boats, he said.
On the other hand, Iran has stopped conducting what the US calls provocative manoeuvres against US Navy ships in the Persian Gulf, Mr Mattis said.
“It’s like an outlier, and I don’t know why,” he said. “They don’t seem to be engaging in the same provocative behavior” in the Gulf as they were prior to last summer.
Navy Cmdr William Urban said earlier Thursday that there have been no “unsafe and unprofessional” actions by Iranian naval forces in the Gulf since August 2017.
Prior to that, Iranian vessels had periodically made high-speed approaches to US ships that were considered dangerous provocations.
“It seems like they’ve absolutely made a conscious decision to give us more space,” Cmdr Urban said.