Revolutionary operatives of Iran helping Iraq: US

There are some Iranian revolutionary operatives in Iraq but I’ve seen no indication of ground forces or major units.

Iran has deployed “small numbers” of operatives into Iraq to bolster the government there but there was no sign of a major deployment of army units, the Pentagon said on Friday.

“There are some Iranian revolutionary operatives in Iraq but I’ve seen no indication of ground forces or major units,” spokesman Admiral John Kirby told a news conference, apparently referring to Tehran’s Quds force, the covert arm of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
US President Barack Obama, who based his political career on ending US involvement in Iraq, has insisted the US was not slipping back into the morass, and warned Maliki and his ally Iran that promoting sectarianism would spell disaster.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki faced mounting criticism for his government’s failure to do more to woo the Sunni minority as Obama promised military advisers but no immediate air strikes.
Maliki — once seen as acceptable to both long-time foes Iran and the US — was criticised by a litany of American officials as well as Iraq’s most revered Shia cleric, who also warned that time was running out to expel militants who have seized a vast swathe of northern and north-central Iraq.
US Vice-President Joe Biden, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen Martin Dempsey and David Petraeus, former top US commander in Iraq, have all either called for Maliki to be more inclusive, or outright criticised him.
Iraqi forces were massing north of Baghdad, aiming to strike back at the militants whose drive towards the capital prompted the United States to send 300 military advisers to stiffen government resistance.

• MENA