It has been confirmed; Moqtada al-Sadr has fled the scene, though the crew he left behind in Iraq isn't putting his departure in quite those terms.
An adviser to Iraq's prime minister said Thursday that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is in Iran, but denied he fled due to fear of arrest during an escalating security crackdown.
Of course, just yesterday they were not only denying he had left, they were denying that he would ever leave.
"This news is false," said Abdul Razzaq al-Nidawi, a senior al-Sadr spokesman reached by telephone in the province of Diwaniya. "Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr is still in Najaf and he did not and will not leave the city."
..."They want to harm the Sadr movement by suggesting that Moqtada al-Sadr is being paid by Iran, and then, under the pretext of him being an agent and a collaborator with Iran, which is impossible . . . they want to hunt him down," he said.
Well, he is paid by Iran and gets his weapons, training, money and marching orders from Iran. And if that knowledge hurts the image of the thugs he commands, so much the better.
But why it is that Junior al Sadr feels safe in Iran is a mystery to me. Because, it seems, that Iran is getting a taste of it's own medicine.
At least 18 people were killed when a car bomb exploded near an Iranian military bus Wednesday morning in the southeastern Iranian border town of Zahedan, officials reported.
An undetermined number of people were wounded in the bombing.
A witness said the car blew up as soon as the bus, which belonged to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, arrived to pick up military personnel at the barracks.
Two motorcycle riders reportedly fired shots at the bus, forcing it to stop near the car bomb, which was then detonated by remote control, a witness said. Zahedan is located along the Iran-Pakistan border.
I wonder who did that? (terrorists) Oh and that's just the latest news. Recently
A senior nuclear physicist involved in Iran's nuclear program has died under mysterious circumstances two weeks ago....
Professor Ardashir Hosseinpour, was a world authority on electromagnetism. He was until recently working in one of the central processing sites in Iran's nuclear program. Professsor Hosseeinpour was working on enrichment of uranium at the facility in Isfahan.
The physicist died January 18, but news of his death was only reported six days later in two Iranian media outlets.
Too bad, so sad. I won't miss the guy.
But I wonder, who did that? (Well you could blame the joos, but they are just the Little Satan)
Perhaps all this, and the fact that Iran's economy is falling apart, is having an effect
Iran's hard-line president, who has berated the United States and refused to compromise on his nuclear program, is now softening his tone, saying Monday he wants dialogue rather than confrontation in Iraq. Tehran also denied it gave sophisticated weapons to militants to attack U.S. forces.
Gee, what do you think al Sadr's life is really worth to Iran now that the US Military, now with improved Iraqi political support, is kicking ass and taking names to the extent that he had to flee the country. Do you think maybe, just maybe, Iran will hand al Sadr's head to the Americans if it means the US might, say, ease some of the banking restrictions, or help to stop people blowing shit up in Iran?
Maybe. The Iranians have to do something. Making al Sadr really gone could help.
