Gates: If Iran has stemmed weapons flow to Iraq, it is part of developing Iraq government relationship with Tehran. US is not involved

It is too soon to tell whether these reports represent a credible trend, said the US defense secretary Robert Gates Friday. If so, it will reduce US and Iraqi deaths. But it does not involve the United States “and is not necessarily a signal to us.” Gates spoke on his way back from trips to China, South Korea and Japan.
debkafile adds: Tehran injected the armor-piercing explosives and roadside bombs to Iraq to harass US forces, and is now stemming their flow as a chip for a deal whereby Nouri al-Maliki’s government in Baghdad will leave the door open for Iran’s takeover of predominantly Shiite oil-rich southern Iraq. Pro-Iranian Shiite militias moved in to seize control of the territory before British forces began their retreat from the key Basra province in recent months. Therefore, while US troops will be greatly relieved by the slowdown of the deadly bomb attacks, Washington will also have to contend with a move by Tehran that will effectively partition Iraq contrary to its avowed policies.