Sadr issued a statement declaring open war on the Iraqi government if national security forces continued to target his Mahdi Army, but his spokesman, Salih al-Ubaydi, said in a interview recently the cleric "does not accept" engaging Iraqi armed forces.

Ubaydi noted other political groups in Iraq were using their armed divisions to influence Baghdad under Iranian orders, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said.

"It is very well known that there are some political parties playing the Iranian role in Iraq. It is not the Sadrists; it is the al-Hakim party," he said, referring to the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq led by Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim and its military wing, the Badr Organization.

"It is very well known that Iran also has participated in this campaign against the Sadrists in Basra, because the Sadrists" control Basra independent of U.S. and British influence, Ubaydi said.

Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the second in command of U.S. military operations in Iraq, said Wednesday military operations in Baghdad's Sadr City would continue to target Iranian-backed "special groups" operating in the region but not specifically Sadr's Mahdi Army.