Bosnia-Iran Link Annoys U.S.

The State Department took the unusual step Friday of expressing annoyance with Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic for failing to fulfill a promise to fire a senior defense official with close links to Iran.

In a bid to force Bosnia’s hand, the administration is continuing to withhold delivery of $100 million in military equipment until the official departs.

“We don’t want to see the government of Iran have high-level influence on the government of a country that we are giving substantial amount of assistance to,” department spokesman Nicholas Burns said.

The administration had said a week ago that it wanted a senior Bosnian defense official released as a condition for delivering the assistance.

On Friday, Burns publicly disclosed the identity of the official for the first time, although he had been named in numerous news reports over the past week.

He said he decided to identify the official, Deputy Defense Minister Hasan Cengic, because the impasse with the Bosnian government “has gone on far too long.”

Bosnia’s U.N. ambassador, Muhamed Sacirbey, said after a meeting at the State Department he believes the dispute can be resolved in a few days.

“It’s going to necessitate some help from the United States to make sure that it all goes smoothly,” he said. “Needless to say, there is a clear commitment to make things work.”