U.N. inspector Ritter positive on Iran

CHICAGO, May 14 (UPI) -- Iranian support for the halt to conflicts in Basra and Baghdad point to Tehran's positive influence, said Scott Ritter, former U.N. weapons inspector for Iraq.

The Chicago City Council convened a meeting of experts and academics exploring the wisdom of apparent rhetoric suggesting a U.S. military confrontation with Iran.

Ritter pointed out that the recent truce between supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr and the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had the backing of key figures in Iran.

"It was Iran brokering an agreement," Ritter said.

"(So) to say that Iran is trying to undermine the Iraqi government is self-contradictory," he continued.

Ritter served as the chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998 and was a major critic of the decision of the United States to invade Iraq on the premise it possessed weapons of mass destruction.