Iran extends line of credit to Iraq

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran reached out to Iraq and the American public in separate gestures Wednesday, giving the Baghdad government a $1 billion line of credit while Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a personal letter to “noble Americans” calling for a military withdrawal from Iraq.

The financial arrangements were revealed on the third and final day of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s meetings here with Iran’s political elite. Ahmadinejad made clear for the first time that Iran would support Iraq’s government in setting a timetable for U.S. troops to leave the country.

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that in addition to the line of credit, Ahmadinejad and Talabani had signed “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of no-bid contracts and trade pacts for Iraqi reconstruction. Under the agreements, Iran will help rebuild schools, hospitals, pipelines and power plants.

Iran’s gestures underscored its deep religious bond with its Shiite-majority neighbor but also what some believe is its desire to displace the U.S. as a power broker in Iraq.

Ahmadinejad’s “letter to the American people,” released by Iran’s U.N. mission in New York, made special note of the financial cost of the Iraq war to the U.S.

“I consider it extremely unlikely that you, the American people, consent to the billions of dollars of annual expenditure from your treasury for this military misadventure,” he wrote.

He noted other possible uses for the money, pointing out that “many victims of Katrina continue to suffer, and countless Americans continue to live in poverty and homelessness.”

While such jibes at U.S. policy are common for Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president used highly diplomatic language Wednesday in Tehran to wrap up Talabani’s visit. Discussing a possible timetable for withdrawal of foreign troops, he said too much time had passed for “those who came to help the Iraqi nation.”

Concerning the U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Ahmadinejad said: “When Saddam was toppled everyone was happy.” But the Iranian leader’s message to the U.S. was direct: “I strongly advise you to leave Iraq to restore your respect and reputation. Based on an agreed timetable with the Iraqi government, trying to handle the affair eventually, you should let the Iraqi government run the country.”