Sadr rattles sabre at Iran

BAGHDAD, June 22 (UPI) -- Iraq will respond if Iranians conduct military activity in the country even if Tehran targets U.S. forces, Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr said.

Hassan Danaifar, the Iranian envoy to Baghdad, suggested Tehran would respond against Iraq if U.S. forces used the country as a springboard to launch attacks on Iran.

There is no indication the United States is planning such an action.

"We will not allow this, even if it is the (American) occupiers who are being targeted," a statement attributed to Sadr was published by London's pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.

Hakim al-Zamili, a lawmaker in Sadr's political party, told the London newspaper that there is no "excuse of pretext" for Iraq becoming a staging ground for aggression against any of its neighbors.

"Sadr's main concern is Iraq, therefore he hopes that our relations with all neighboring countries are built on mutual respect and the development of common interests in all fields," he said.

Sadr is seen as leaning toward Iranian interests and was once carrying out his clerical studies alongside key ayatollahs in Iran.

He was once the target of U.S. military forces during the initial stages of the war and his party now holds 40 seats in the Iraqi Parliament.