Iran 'could help topple Saddam'
Iran might help the United States topple Saddam Hussein despite years of mutual antagonism between the two countries, Pentagon officials said today.
Iranian diplomats are in talks with their American counterparts to provide support in military emergencies such as pilots shot down or naval accidents in the Persian Gulf.
The Pentagon said “preliminary feelers” between the two countries were underway through Arab intermediaries.
Iran has also allowed a group of dissident Iraqi Shiite Muslims, now based in Tehran, to work with America to help overthrow Saddam, diplomats told USA Today.
The negotiations could provide a major strategic boost to US hopes of a swift victory in any war against Iraq. Iran and Iraq share a 730 mile border.
Iran’s Islamic regime has been keen to get rid of Saddam for over two decades after he invaded the country in 1980.
Middle East experts said Iranian leaders may also be prepared to help the US to try to stop the country from becoming the next target in the war on terrorism.
America broke off diplomatic ties in 1980 when hostages were seized at the US Embassy in Tehran.
President George Bush labelled Iran a member of the “axis of evil” along with Iraq and North Korea earlier this year.
The US State Department also issued a report singling out Iran as the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism, while the White House has accused it of trying to develop nuclear weapons.
But in an attempt to encourage co-operation over Iraq, the State Department said Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations could be invited to Washington later this month, the first such invitation for over a year.
