Iran blamed for attacks on British troops

The Telegraph UK:

Weapons used to attack British troops in Iraq were supplied by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the Foreign Office has claimed.

A senior British official said that there was evidence that the Iranians were now in contact with Sunni Muslim insurgent groups fighting the coalition forces in Iraq. READ MORE

He said that the Iranian action could be an attempt to warn off Britain over its demands that Tehran should abandon its controversial nuclear programme.

"It would be entirely natural that they would want to send a message 'Don't mess with us'. It would not be outside the policy parameters of Teheran," the official said.

He said it was believed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had been responsible for supplying the explosives technology used in a series of deadly attacks on British troops over the summer.

"We think it has come from Lebanese Hizbollah via Iran," he said.

He refused to be drawn on whether the IRGC were acting on the orders of the government in Tehran or were operating independently.

Although Iran is Shia Muslim, the official said it now appeared that elements in Tehran were in contact with Sunni Muslim insurgent groups across the border in Iraq.

Earlier this year it was disclosed that British diplomats had protested to the Iranian government after the seizure of arms being smuggled across the border into Iraq.

"We continue to press Iran on that and we continue to encourage the Iraqi government to do that," the official said.