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10/03/2005:

"Iraq Rejects Saudi Charge of Iran Meddling"

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Iraq angrily rejected Saudi Arabian allegations of increasing Iranian involvement in Iraq, as Arab foreign ministers gathered on Sunday to discuss a pan-Arab strategy to help restore stability to the war-torn country.

Top American diplomats, meanwhile, have stepped up efforts with Arab officials to involve them with endeavors to convince Iraqi Sunni Arabs to accept Iraq's contentious constitution.

In a sign of rising tensions, Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr, a powerful member of the Shiite-led government, disputed Saudi accusations that Iran now dominates Iraq, instead accusing the Saudis of being ``tyrants'' who discriminate against their own Shiites.

Iraq's Sunni-dominated neighbors, chiefly Saudi Arabia and Jordan, have expressed concern that too much influence from Iran could empower Iraq's majority Shiites and cause a political shift in the region, including a possible split of the country into a Kurdish north, a Sunni center and a Shiite south.
guardian.co.uk