News Search Search this site or the web powered by FreeFind Site search Web search Story archive		6-10-2005 Scotsman Analysis:Softly, softly approach is over as Britain finally loses its patience By Gethin Chamberlain IRAN has gone out of its way to stir up trouble in Iraq since the end of the war in 2003 and its involvement in the funding and training of insurgents has been common knowledge in military and diplomatic circles. Its involvement has ranged from the supply of weapons and explosives to the deployment of intelligence agents inside the country. Officials in Iraq's interior ministry have regularly accused Iran of direct involvement in terrorist activity. But it has also used more subtle tactics: when it raised the price of copper in the months after the war ended, British troops noted an upsurge in the theft of underground electrical cables in Basra, which triggered frequent power cuts and fuelled discontent. Frustration with Tehran's meddling was first voiced publicly in July 2003, when Lieutenant Colonel Mark Castle - then commanding the King's Own Scottish Borderers in Iraq - told The Scotsman that Tehran was funding and training insurgents. "The Foreign Office position has been quite softly, softly to Iran, but, on the ground, we are seeing a lot of attempts to place Iranian-funded people on committees and large sums of money coming over the Iranian border," he said at the time. "The conclusion you have to draw from this is that there is some sort of organised attempt to undermine what we are doing here." Although subsequent events have borne out Lt Col Castle's analysis, both the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence were quick to distance themselves from his remarks and the low-key British handling of Iran over the past two years has been in marked contrast to America's frequently-voiced frustrations. But Tehran's recent behaviour has stretched British patience to breaking point and yesterday's decision to go public with these accusations reflects the frustration felt within the Foreign Office. The senior official who conducted yesterday's briefing suggested that Iran's decision to supply insurgents with a new explosive device was directly linked to the ongoing negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme. However, it may be equally plausible to suggest that Britain's decision to go public with its accusations reflects a toughening up of its own negotiating position and is intended to send out its own "Don't mess with us" message to Tehran. Despite provocation, including the seizure of eight servicemen last year, Britain has tried to maintain a public semblance of civility towards Iran, while Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, has been at the forefront of European attempts to persuade the Tehran regime to abandon the enrichment of uranium in return for access to civil nuclear technology. With the election of the hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that initiative appears to have hit the buffers, which may explain why Britain has finally decided to give vent to its frustrations.
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