VZCZCXRO2445
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #3765/01 3351747
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 301747Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0626
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003765 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/I AND NEA/IR 
NSC STAFF FOR OLLIVANT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PINR IR IZ
SUBJECT: SALAH AD-DIN RESIDENTS WORRIED ABOUT PERCEIVED 
IRANIAN INTERFERENCE 
 
REF: A. BAGHDAD 3456 
     ¶B. BAGHDAD 3418 
 
Classified By: Minister-Counselor Michael Corbin for reason 1.4 (d). 
 
¶1.  (S/NF) Summary:  Judges and community activists in the 
mostly Sunni province of Salah ad-Din expressed concern about 
Iranian meddling in Iraq during a visit by Iran Watcher to 
the province Nov. 22-25, but struggled to point to specific 
instances of Iranian influence aside from Iranian products 
filling local store shelves.  Likewise MND-N intelligence 
officers noted that tribes along the Iran-Iraq border in 
Diyala province are smuggling Iranian weapons into Iraq, but 
had no solid evidence of complicity by the government of Iran 
in weapons smuggling or other support to Sunni extremists in 
Salah ad-Din.  In Samarra, home of the Golden Mosque (a major 
Shia shrine) and focus of Iranian interest in the province, 
PRT Salah ad-Din is working with UNESCO and UNDP on a 
development strategy to broaden the base of cultural and 
religious tourism in the city while promoting economic 
development for its (mostly Sunni) citizens.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Embassy's Iran Watcher visited Salah ad-Din province 
Nov. 22-25 for meetings with community leaders and 
consultations with PRT Salad ad-Din and MND-N on Iranian 
influence in the province.  Birthplace of Saddam Hussein, 
Salah ad-Din is overwhelmingly Sunni and tribal.  Many of its 
residents are deeply suspicious of real - or perceived - 
Iranian interference in internal Iraqi affairs.  They speak 
of "Persian" influence, conflating their fears of Iran with 
their unease at their own Iraqi Shia neighbors.  The views 
reported below are typical of what the PRT hears regularly. 
The provincial capital, Tikrit, is a long-standing rival of 
the commercial capital of Samarra, home of the Golden Mosque, 
which many Shia believe is where the 12th and final Imam will 
return as the Mahdi.  Sunni extremists attacked the mosque in 
2006 and 2007; Iranian officials pledged to assist in 
rebuilding and recently made two high-level visits without 
notifying local officials in advance (reftels). 
 
¶3.  (C) Faisal Ibrahim Ali, chief judge of the Salah ad-Din 
Major Crimes Court (protect throughout), said in a meeting 
that the national government in Baghdad is "facilitating and 
accepting foreign intruders."  The problem is not Iranians, 
but Iraqis representing Iranian interests, he said, 
soliciting the agreement of two other Salah ad-Din judges in 
the meeting.  Faisal noted that he had watched the debate in 
the Council of Representatives (CoR) on the US-Iraq Security 
Agreement.  He could follow the debate even with the sound 
off, he said, because he believed that members of the CoR 
dressed in suits and ties were truly representing Iraqi 
interests while those without ties, those with big beards, 
and those with religious turbans were "talking in the tongue 
of another country."  Faisal claimed to have information 
about Iranian interference in Salah ad-Din, but said he was 
not authorized to discuss it. 
 
¶4. (S/NF) Likewise, community activist and longtime USG 
contact Ra'id Khutab (protect throughout) said that residents 
of the province believe Iran is manipulating the GoI.  Ra'id 
noted the penetration of Iranian goods in local markets and 
claimed that Iran is providing direct support to al-Qaida and 
other Sunni extremists.  Pressed for evidence of such 
support, he repeated third-hand stories with little factual 
basis.  MNF-I intelligence officers also have no solid 
indication of support by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards 
Qindication of support by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards 
Corps (IRGC) or other arms of the Iranian government for 
Sunni extremists in Salah ad-Din, although they noted reports 
of tribes situated on both sides of the border between Iran 
and Diyala province that traditionally smuggle Iranian 
weapons into Iraq for sale to all. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) A PRT survey of consumer goods and produce in local 
markets found products from Iran as well as Syria, Turkey, 
and elsewhere, consistent with national trends indicating 
that imports are dominating Iraqi markets as the Iraqi 
economy struggles to recover. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Samarra is the one location in the province where 
Iranian officials are publicly attempting to increase their 
influence through offering assistance in the reconstruction 
and redevelopment of the Golden Mosque.  However, the Iraqi 
government has rejected Iranian assistance and has agreed to 
work with UNESCO on rebuilding the shrine, and the PRT 
satellite office in Samarra is facilitating that process, 
along with supporting a plan to promote broadly based 
economic development throughout the city and rehabilitation 
 
BAGHDAD 00003765  002 OF 002 
 
 
of other historic sites to interest a wide range of tourists. 
 PRT notes that local merchants welcome Iranian tourism 
dollars but reject Iranian political interference in the city. 
 
¶7.  (C) Comment:  Salah ad-Din residents' profound suspicions 
of Iran will likely prevent any significant Iranian meddling 
in local affairs and would greatly complicate any Iranian 
attempt to assist local extremists.  However, their worries 
about Iranian influence at the national level will also 
complicate their relations with the national government, even 
as the provincial and national officials make increasing 
efforts to work together. 
 
CROCKER 
CROCKER