Rumsfeld Warns Iran Not to Overplay Hand

Agence France-Presse:

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned Iran overnight not to overplay its hand in southern Iraq, saying its active involvement among the majority of Shiites there was "not helpful". "They are interested, they are involved and they are active. And it's not helpful," Mr Rumsfeld said. He made the comment after an incident in the southern city of Basra in which British forces stormed an Iraqi police jail to rescue two soldiers from Iraqi militiamen. READ MORE

Mr Rumsfeld said he had not studied details of the incident.

"That's up to the Brits," he said.

"That's their sector and they've done generally a very good job over time."

Asked about Iranian involvement in the region, Mr Rumsfeld said he did not know whether it was any greater today than it has been in the past, but said "you can be sure the playing field is not even there".

"My guess is in the last analysis that the overwhelming majority of the Iraqis, including the Iraqi Shia, are more Iraqi than they are Shia. They are more Iraqi Shia than they are Iranian Shia. And that, you know, you can overplay your hand," he said.