The scent of Iran is hovering over the Iraqi capital, as relations between the two erstwhile rivals warm, marked by the arrival Wednesday of Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani.

Thousands of Iranian-made Saipa taxi cabs roam the streets of Baghdad, one result of growing trade between Baghdad and Tehran since the Shiite-dominated government was set up in Iraq.

Nowadays, Iran has become one of the Iraq's important trading partners, supplying everything from electricity to garments and foodstuff to Iraq.

Iranian-made clothes and food items can be seen in markets and shops across Iraq.

In major Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, hundreds of billboards and posters of Iranian supreme leader have been erected, another sign of Iran's growing influence and angering the country' s minority Sunnis, who see Iran as an arch-foe and frequently accuse their Shiite-led government of having a too close relationship with a neighbor that once fought an 8-year war in the 1980s.

The posters, reportedly first appeared last August, remained conspicuously up there despite the outcry of some nationalists, particularly the Sunnis.

Average Iraqis differed on the posters issue along the sectarian line. Most Sunnis were suspicious and indignant while the Shiites appeared more tolerant and supporting.

The current Iraqi government, led by Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki, warmed up its relations with Iran after the 2003 Iraq war and turned into a major ally of the Shiite heavyweight, much to the unease of the United States and the Sunni-majority Gulf nations.

Recent media reports also suggest that Iraq knowingly allowed Iranian flights to pass through its airspace to send weapons to Syria.

Government officials and parliament members seemed less concerned as some said it was an overreaction to western media reports.

Iranian influence in Iraq, they argued, could be traced back in history and is not at all unsettling or disturbing. The presence of Iran in Iraq is multidimensional and goes far beyond politics.

Kamal al-Sadi, an Iraqi parliament member, told Xinhua, "Iraq is a democratic country. We don't prevent anyone from erecting posters, no matter we like the content on the poster or not."

All neighboring countries are influencing Iraq in one way or another, the lawmaker said. "The relations between Iraq and Iran or with the rest of the neighboring Arab countries are beyond politics."

To him, Iranian influence or Turkish or Saudi influence in Iraq has existed in the past and will remain in the future.

"There is blood relation with these nations long before the borders are set," al-Sadi said. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)