US Says Iraq Looking the Other Way as Iran Ships Weapons to Syria

ABC News Radio - The U.S. is losing patience with Baghdad for allegedly permitting Iran to use its airspace for flights to Syria.

An unidentified American official complained that Iranians are supplying weapons to government forces in Syria as President Bashar al-Assad tries to hold onto power in a conflict that is now entering its third year.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told the Obama administration last October that Iranian planes would be regularly searched but the official claimed that there have only been two searches since then that the U.S. knows of.

However, according to al-Maliki’s government, there isn’t much it can do to prevent the flyovers. Meanwhile, two Iraqi lawmakers contend that the prime minister knows about the weapons transfer from Iran to Syria and chooses to do nothing about it.

The Shiite government in Iraq is fearful that if Sunni Muslims take over Syria, it will pose a threat to their regime, the same concern Iran has.