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United States raid on the Iranian Liaison Office in Erbil

January 01, 1970

On January 11, 2007, the United States military raided the Iranian Liaison Office (which was in the process of becoming accredited as an officially recognized consulate)[1] in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, ostensibly to detain two senior Iranian officials, but captured five mid-level diplomats instead.[2][3] The U.S. government's position is that the office was used by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a local headquarters. However, both Iranian and Kurdish officials state that it was a diplomatic mission in the city of Erbil.[4][5][6]

Iraqi Kurdistan condemned the raid. Iran argued that the raid was illegal. The U.S. said this action was required under the U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement.[7] Iran retaliated with similar raids.

On July 9, 2009, U.S. authorities released the five diplomats (Mohsen Bagheri, Mahmoud Farhadi, Majid Ghaemi, Majid Daghari and Abbas Jami), after more than two and a half years imprisonment.[8]

The raid edit

According to Iranian officials, five U.S. helicopters landed on the roof of the Liaison Office in Erbil. U.S. soldiers entered the building, detained five people and took away materials.[9] The raid occurred between 3 and 5 a.m., when the U.S. troops entered the Liaison Office after disarming the guards.[5] Two senior local Kurdish officials said the forces confiscated computers and documents.[10]

In a report which was later confirmed by Masoud Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government,[11] The Independent noted that instead of the current captives, the U.S. had hoped to capture the deputy head of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Mohammed Jafari, and chief of intelligence of the IRGC, General Manuchehr Frouzandeh, who were on an official visit to Iraq ostensibly to improve co-operation in the area of bilateral security, during which they met the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Barzani stated: "They (the commanders) came here and they came openly. Their meetings with the president and myself were reported on television. The Americans came to detain this delegation, not the people in the office. They came to the wrong place at the wrong time."[3][4] It was also reported that U.S. troops attempted to detain people at the Erbil International Airport that same day, but Kurdish forces intervened. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that there was almost a confrontation between U.S. and Kurdish troops at the airport but that "a massacre was avoided at the last minute".[5]

The raid took place within hours of U.S. President George W. Bush claiming "Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops" in an address to the nation.[3]

This was not the first time the United States had arrested alleged IRGC members in Iraq. A few weeks before, on December 29, U.S. forces in Iraq released alleged Iranian IRGC members who were detained for alleged weapons smuggling after a raid conducted December 21 in Baghdad.[12][13]

Status of office edit

The Iranian Liaison Office in Erbil has been active and operating since 1992. The various governments dispute the exact status of the office.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, the detained Iranians had been working in Erbil with official sanction, and the Liaison Office was in the process of becoming a full consulate; however, the office was yet to be classified as a consulate with diplomatic protection.[14][15]

Iran states that based on an agreement between the governments of Iran and Iraq its status was officially changed to a Consulate General, and official note verbale (diplomatic notes) were exchanged between the two countries accordingly.[1] According to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations consulates enjoy immunity and all member states of the United Nations have to respect such immunity.

Officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government said that consular activities, such as the issuance of visas, had been carried out by the office staff since 1992, and they were treated as if they were accredited diplomats.[16]

The U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the detainees were not diplomats.[14]

Reactions edit

Masoud Barzani condemned the capture and demanded the quick release of Iranians.[17][18] Kurdistani government was reportedly unaware of the U.S. plans to raid the Iranian Liaison Office and did not know the purpose of the operation. After raiding the office, the U.S. forces headed for Eikawa district, which hosts foreign companies and countries' representatives. Security forces of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP) reportedly surrounded three U.S. military vehicles to prevent them from further action.[19]

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told state-run radio the raid was against a diplomatic mission since the presence of Iranian staffers in Erbil was legal. Hosseini said the action by coalition forces reflected a continuation of pressure on Iran, aiming to "create tension" between Iraq and its neighbors.[20]

In Tehran, Iran summoned the ambassadors of Iraq and Switzerland (which represents U.S. interests in Iran) over the consulate raid.[19]

The UN Secretary General's described the incident as "disputes between individual states". A UN spokesman said "We've left it to the respective countries to work it out among themselves [...] Ultimately it's up to Security Council members themselves to determine how its resolutions get implemented."[16]

On March 10 at a meeting of envoys in Baghdad, the Iranian delegation raised the issue of the five detained Iranians. A U.S. spokesman said that Iraq had asked the U.S. side to investigate the circumstances involving the detention. Iran says it was assured by Iraq that the five would be released by March 21, Nowruz (Iranian New Year).[21]

Some claim that the increased diplomatic tension created by this incident lead to the Iranian arrest of 15 Royal Navy personnel in a border dispute two months later.[3]

Alleged retaliation edit

See also: Karbala provincial headquarters raid

According to American journalist Robin Wright, the 2007 arrest of fifteen British sailors in the Persian Gulf was likely connected to the holding of the five Iranian officials. The arrest of the British came three days after Nowruz, a date that the Iranian government had announced that it expected the five officials to be freed by, and which passed without their release. "The common denominator was the Revolutionary Guards." Iranians being held by the U.S. were "Quds Force operatives" (the foreign operation branch of the Revolutionary Guards), while the Iranian naval unit that had taken the British hostage were also Revolutionary Guards.[22] When the sailors were released twelve days later and the five Iranians remained in detained, "Tehran shifted its focus", according to Wright. One month later, four Iranian Americans with dual nationalities—Ali Shakeri, Haleh Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh, Parnaz Azima—were detained for unspecified "crimes against national security".[23]

In custody edit

The Iranian consular officers were: Naser Bagheri, Mousa Chegini, Abbas Hatami Kakavand, Hamid Askari Shokouh and Majid Ghaemi.[1]

Under Iraqi law, detainees identified as insurgents should be charged in civilian courts. They may be held up to 14 days before being brought before a magistrate. These requirements appear to be systematically ignored in practice.[16] In this incident, the Iraqi government denies that the detainees were helping insurgents.[11]

In 2008,[24] three of the five Iranian detainees were being held at a U.S. prison camp in Iraq. According to the United States Department of Defense, they were under interrogation and the U.S. had "no plans to free them while they are seen as a security risk in Iraq".[25] An International Committee of the Red Cross representative met the five Iranian employees in March 2008 and reported "they were in good health".[26] After its first consular meeting with the captives, Iran announced that the "[detainees] have complained about their kidnapping, the US attitude and non-observance of international regulations".[24]

Release of some Iranians edit

On November 9, 2007, the United States released two of the detainees (after 305 days) as well as 7 other Iranian citizens. The other seven Iranians being freed had been picked up in different parts of the country and held for periods ranging between three months and three years.[27] The list of those who were released is as follows:[28]

  • Mousa Chegini
  • Hamid Reza Askari
  • Adel Moradi
  • Mohammad Ali Ahmadi
  • Ebrahim Mowlaei
  • Raed Saeedi
  • Azam Karami
  • Habib Ghorbani
  • Mohammad Jafar Makki Mohammad

"The release followed a careful review of individual records to determine if they posed a security threat to Iraq, and if their detention was of continued intelligence value", the American officials said in a statement.[27]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c United Nations General Assembly Session 61 Agenda items 76 and 80. Letter dated 19 January 2007 from the Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General A/61/706 22 January 2007. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  2. ^ Wright, Robin (June 21, 2007). "U.S. Refuses to Free 5 Captured Iranians Until at Least October". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d Cockburn, Patrick (April 3, 2007). . The Independent. Archived from the original on April 6, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  4. ^ a b . International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. April 6, 2007. Archived from the original on April 19, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c Wright, Robin; Trejos, Nancy (January 12, 2007). "U.S. Troops Raid 2 Iranian Targets in Iraq, Detain 5 People". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 7, 2007.
  6. ^ . The Irish Times. January 11, 2007. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
  7. ^ Gollust, David (July 9, 2009). . Voice of America. Archived from the original on July 17, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  8. ^ "Iranians held in Iraq since 2007 released". CNN. July 9, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  9. ^ "Iran Protests Consulate Raid In Iraq". NewsWire.co.nz. Retrieved July 15, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Abdul-Zahra, Qassim (January 11, 2007). "Iraqi officials say multinational forces detained Iranian staffers from Tehran's consulate". The York Dispatch. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Kurd: U.S. Sought Other Iranians in Raid". The Guardian. April 7, 2007.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ . India Daily. Archived from the original on May 18, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "US frees detained Iran diplomats". BBC News. December 29, 2006. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
  14. ^ a b . Khaleej Times. Agence France-Presse. January 25, 2007. Archived from the original on December 1, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
  15. ^ . Sky News. January 12, 2007. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
  16. ^ a b c Akhavi, Khody (March 31, 2007). . Asia Times. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  17. ^ . Baztab (in Persian). January 11, 2007. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  18. ^ . The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  19. ^ a b . Telugu Portal. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  20. ^ Abdul-Zahra, Qassim (January 11, 2007). . Forbes. Archived from the original on January 17, 2007. {{cite magazine}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  21. ^ Khalaf, Roula; Dinmore, Guy (March 28, 2007). "Mideast security talks face delay". Financial Times. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  22. ^ Wright, Robin (2008). Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East. Penguin Press. p. 335.
  23. ^ Wright, Robin (2008). Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East. Penguin Press. pp. 335–336.
  24. ^ a b . Al Bawaba. July 8, 2007. Archived from the original on July 12, 2007. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  25. ^ Beeston, Richard (March 27, 2007). . The Times. Archived from the original on March 30, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  26. ^ . Alalam News. April 4, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2007.
  27. ^ a b "US releases nine Iranians in Iraq". BBC News. November 9, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
  28. ^ (in Persian). Radio Zamaneh. November 9, 2007. Archived from the original on November 11, 2007. Retrieved July 23, 2022.

External links edit

January 01, 1970
united, states, raid, iranian, liaison, office, erbil, january, 2007, united, states, military, raided, iranian, liaison, office, which, process, becoming, accredited, officially, recognized, consulate, erbil, kurdistan, region, iraq, ostensibly, detain, senio. On January 11 2007 the United States military raided the Iranian Liaison Office which was in the process of becoming accredited as an officially recognized consulate 1 in Erbil Kurdistan Region Iraq ostensibly to detain two senior Iranian officials but captured five mid level diplomats instead 2 3 The U S government s position is that the office was used by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC as a local headquarters However both Iranian and Kurdish officials state that it was a diplomatic mission in the city of Erbil 4 5 6 Iraqi Kurdistan condemned the raid Iran argued that the raid was illegal The U S said this action was required under the U S Iraq Status of Forces Agreement 7 Iran retaliated with similar raids On July 9 2009 U S authorities released the five diplomats Mohsen Bagheri Mahmoud Farhadi Majid Ghaemi Majid Daghari and Abbas Jami after more than two and a half years imprisonment 8 Contents 1 The raid 2 Status of office 3 Reactions 3 1 Alleged retaliation 4 In custody 4 1 Release of some Iranians 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksThe raid editAccording to Iranian officials five U S helicopters landed on the roof of the Liaison Office in Erbil U S soldiers entered the building detained five people and took away materials 9 The raid occurred between 3 and 5 a m when the U S troops entered the Liaison Office after disarming the guards 5 Two senior local Kurdish officials said the forces confiscated computers and documents 10 In a report which was later confirmed by Masoud Barzani the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government 11 The Independent noted that instead of the current captives the U S had hoped to capture the deputy head of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council Mohammed Jafari and chief of intelligence of the IRGC General Manuchehr Frouzandeh who were on an official visit to Iraq ostensibly to improve co operation in the area of bilateral security during which they met the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani Barzani stated They the commanders came here and they came openly Their meetings with the president and myself were reported on television The Americans came to detain this delegation not the people in the office They came to the wrong place at the wrong time 3 4 It was also reported that U S troops attempted to detain people at the Erbil International Airport that same day but Kurdish forces intervened Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that there was almost a confrontation between U S and Kurdish troops at the airport but that a massacre was avoided at the last minute 5 The raid took place within hours of U S President George W Bush claiming Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops in an address to the nation 3 This was not the first time the United States had arrested alleged IRGC members in Iraq A few weeks before on December 29 U S forces in Iraq released alleged Iranian IRGC members who were detained for alleged weapons smuggling after a raid conducted December 21 in Baghdad 12 13 Status of office editThe Iranian Liaison Office in Erbil has been active and operating since 1992 The various governments dispute the exact status of the office According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari the detained Iranians had been working in Erbil with official sanction and the Liaison Office was in the process of becoming a full consulate however the office was yet to be classified as a consulate with diplomatic protection 14 15 Iran states that based on an agreement between the governments of Iran and Iraq its status was officially changed to a Consulate General and official note verbale diplomatic notes were exchanged between the two countries accordingly 1 According to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations consulates enjoy immunity and all member states of the United Nations have to respect such immunity Officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government said that consular activities such as the issuance of visas had been carried out by the office staff since 1992 and they were treated as if they were accredited diplomats 16 The U S State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the detainees were not diplomats 14 Reactions editMasoud Barzani condemned the capture and demanded the quick release of Iranians 17 18 Kurdistani government was reportedly unaware of the U S plans to raid the Iranian Liaison Office and did not know the purpose of the operation After raiding the office the U S forces headed for Eikawa district which hosts foreign companies and countries representatives Security forces of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan KDP reportedly surrounded three U S military vehicles to prevent them from further action 19 Iran s Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told state run radio the raid was against a diplomatic mission since the presence of Iranian staffers in Erbil was legal Hosseini said the action by coalition forces reflected a continuation of pressure on Iran aiming to create tension between Iraq and its neighbors 20 In Tehran Iran summoned the ambassadors of Iraq and Switzerland which represents U S interests in Iran over the consulate raid 19 The UN Secretary General s described the incident as disputes between individual states A UN spokesman said We ve left it to the respective countries to work it out among themselves Ultimately it s up to Security Council members themselves to determine how its resolutions get implemented 16 On March 10 at a meeting of envoys in Baghdad the Iranian delegation raised the issue of the five detained Iranians A U S spokesman said that Iraq had asked the U S side to investigate the circumstances involving the detention Iran says it was assured by Iraq that the five would be released by March 21 Nowruz Iranian New Year 21 Some claim that the increased diplomatic tension created by this incident lead to the Iranian arrest of 15 Royal Navy personnel in a border dispute two months later 3 Alleged retaliation edit See also Karbala provincial headquarters raid According to American journalist Robin Wright the 2007 arrest of fifteen British sailors in the Persian Gulf was likely connected to the holding of the five Iranian officials The arrest of the British came three days after Nowruz a date that the Iranian government had announced that it expected the five officials to be freed by and which passed without their release The common denominator was the Revolutionary Guards Iranians being held by the U S were Quds Force operatives the foreign operation branch of the Revolutionary Guards while the Iranian naval unit that had taken the British hostage were also Revolutionary Guards 22 When the sailors were released twelve days later and the five Iranians remained in detained Tehran shifted its focus according to Wright One month later four Iranian Americans with dual nationalities Ali Shakeri Haleh Esfandiari Kian Tajbakhsh Parnaz Azima were detained for unspecified crimes against national security 23 In custody editThe Iranian consular officers were Naser Bagheri Mousa Chegini Abbas Hatami Kakavand Hamid Askari Shokouh and Majid Ghaemi 1 Under Iraqi law detainees identified as insurgents should be charged in civilian courts They may be held up to 14 days before being brought before a magistrate These requirements appear to be systematically ignored in practice 16 In this incident the Iraqi government denies that the detainees were helping insurgents 11 In 2008 24 three of the five Iranian detainees were being held at a U S prison camp in Iraq According to the United States Department of Defense they were under interrogation and the U S had no plans to free them while they are seen as a security risk in Iraq 25 An International Committee of the Red Cross representative met the five Iranian employees in March 2008 and reported they were in good health 26 After its first consular meeting with the captives Iran announced that the detainees have complained about their kidnapping the US attitude and non observance of international regulations 24 Release of some Iranians edit On November 9 2007 the United States released two of the detainees after 305 days as well as 7 other Iranian citizens The other seven Iranians being freed had been picked up in different parts of the country and held for periods ranging between three months and three years 27 The list of those who were released is as follows 28 Mousa Chegini Hamid Reza Askari Adel Moradi Mohammad Ali Ahmadi Ebrahim Mowlaei Raed Saeedi Azam Karami Habib Ghorbani Mohammad Jafar Makki Mohammad The release followed a careful review of individual records to determine if they posed a security threat to Iraq and if their detention was of continued intelligence value the American officials said in a statement 27 See also edit1982 kidnapping of Iranian diplomats Deportation of Iranian students at US airports Iran hostage crisis Iranian involvement in the Iraq War Kidnapping of Jalal Sharafi United States kill or capture strategy in Iraq Attack on the Iranian Embassy in London 2018 References edit a b c United Nations General Assembly Session 61 Agenda items 76 and 80 Letter dated 19 January 2007 from the Charge d affaires a i of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary General A 61 706 22 January 2007 Retrieved July 23 2022 Wright Robin June 21 2007 U S Refuses to Free 5 Captured Iranians Until at Least October The Washington Post Retrieved May 5 2008 a b c d Cockburn Patrick April 3 2007 The botched US raid that led to the hostage crisis The Independent Archived from the original on April 6 2007 Retrieved April 3 2007 a b Kurdish leader US sought to capture Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials in Irbil raid International Herald Tribune Associated Press April 6 2007 Archived from the original on April 19 2007 Retrieved April 7 2007 a b c Wright Robin Trejos Nancy January 12 2007 U S Troops Raid 2 Iranian Targets in Iraq Detain 5 People The Washington Post Retrieved April 7 2007 US raids Iranian consulate in Iraq The Irish Times January 11 2007 Archived from the original on January 19 2016 Retrieved May 5 2008 Gollust David July 9 2009 US Iranian Prisoner Release Not a Gesture to Tehran Voice of America Archived from the original on July 17 2009 Retrieved July 15 2017 Iranians held in Iraq since 2007 released CNN July 9 2009 Retrieved July 15 2017 Iran Protests Consulate Raid In Iraq NewsWire co nz Retrieved July 15 2017 permanent dead link Abdul Zahra Qassim January 11 2007 Iraqi officials say multinational forces detained Iranian staffers from Tehran s consulate The York Dispatch Associated Press Archived from the original on February 9 2013 Retrieved July 15 2017 a b Kurd U S Sought Other Iranians in Raid The Guardian April 7 2007 permanent dead link Archived copy India Daily Archived from the original on May 18 2011 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link US frees detained Iran diplomats BBC News December 29 2006 Retrieved May 5 2008 a b US says its has proof Iran is interfering in Iraq Khaleej Times Agence France Presse January 25 2007 Archived from the original on December 1 2007 Retrieved May 5 2008 US Troops Seize Iranians In Iraq Sky News January 12 2007 Archived from the original on May 22 2011 Retrieved May 5 2008 a b c Akhavi Khody March 31 2007 US silent on detained Iranians Asia Times Archived from the original on June 26 2007 Retrieved July 23 2022 بارزاني و دستور محاصره نظاميان آمريكا براي آزادي سريع ديپلمات هاي ايران Baztab in Persian January 11 2007 Archived from the original on October 29 2007 Retrieved July 15 2017 U S Detains 6 Iranians in Irbil Raid The Guardian Archived from the original on December 10 2019 Retrieved December 18 2016 a b WordPress Error Telugu Portal Archived from the original on December 8 2012 Retrieved July 15 2017 Abdul Zahra Qassim January 11 2007 U S Detains 6 Iranians in Irbil Raid Forbes Archived from the original on January 17 2007 a href Template Cite magazine html title Template Cite magazine cite magazine a Unknown parameter agency ignored help Khalaf Roula Dinmore Guy March 28 2007 Mideast security talks face delay Financial Times Retrieved July 23 2022 Wright Robin 2008 Dreams and Shadows The Future of the Middle East Penguin Press p 335 Wright Robin 2008 Dreams and Shadows The Future of the Middle East Penguin Press pp 335 336 a b Iran complains about detention conditions of diplomats in US custody Al Bawaba July 8 2007 Archived from the original on July 12 2007 Retrieved July 15 2017 Beeston Richard March 27 2007 Kidnapping could be traced back to arrests by US forces The Times Archived from the original on March 30 2007 Retrieved April 3 2007 Abducted Iranians to Meet Iran Envoy Alalam News April 4 2007 Archived from the original on September 27 2007 Retrieved April 7 2007 a b US releases nine Iranians in Iraq BBC News November 9 2007 Retrieved May 5 2008 9 ایرانی از زندان آمریکا در عراق آزاد شدند in Persian Radio Zamaneh November 9 2007 Archived from the original on November 11 2007 Retrieved July 23 2022 External links editUnited states troops raided an Iranian consular office BBC Persian permanent dead link Iran Slams US Abduction of Consulate Staff U S forces raid Iranian office in Iraq Tehran The Washington Post Iran confirms U S kidnap of 5 Iranian consulate staff in Iraq Iran Demands Release Of Embassy Staff Detained In Iraq US storms Iran consulate in Erbil U S Forces Raid Iranian Consulate in Iraq Detain 5 Update2 Bloomberg News US forces storm Iranian consulate in Erbil arrest five Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title United States raid on the Iranian Liaison Office in Erbil amp oldid 1213080256, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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