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Length: 4:34
JOHN ROBERTS: More now on the politics inside Iran,
as well as the timing of the allegations against it.
I spoke earlier tonight with CNN's Michael Ware and
Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Michael, these explosively formed
penetrators or projectiles, are hardly anything new.
They have been around since 2005. And Iran has long
been suspected of supplying at least the parts for
them.
So, why is the United States making such a big point
of this now, particularly all of the security and
secrecy around yesterday's briefing?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reason
that the officials have given for the secrecy -- and
that's that the briefing could not be recorded, and
the three officials who were present could not be
named or identified, except by title, a senior
defense official, a senior defense intelligence
analyst, and an explosives expert -- was, they said,
so that the media could get access to the information
that at least one of these men, the intelligence
analyst, had.
They said, he cannot be exposed. His identity cannot
be revealed. And, if it was to be a public event, we
would not have access to his information.
As to the timing, well, that's up to anyone's guess.
The military says it took time to collate this
information, declassify it, and protect their
methods.
They also said that there's been such an upsurge in
the use of these weapons that they felt that they
were obliged to disclose it. That's their story.
ROBERTS: Yes, there were some sources who were saying
that they were worried about authenticating the
intelligence, particularly this idea that ties these
IEDs to Iran.
Christiane Amanpour, the Iranian government is
denying absolutely any involvement in this. Any
reason to believe them?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL
CORRESPONDENT: They are denying it. And they deny it
strenuously.
They basically say that they believe that the U.S. is
doing it because the U.S. is trying to deflect
attention from a very catastrophic situation inside
Iraq.
Now, there may be evidence that, you know, certainly
I'm not privy to it. But what I can tell you is what
you know. And that is, the Iranians do deny it. Now,
that's on the official level.
Behind the scenes and on background, a very senior
government official, connected, very, very
well-connected, has told me that he believes the time
is now to start ratcheting back this dangerous
escalation of rhetoric, and actually to start finding
ways for the United States and Iran to have an
engagement and a rapprochement, not from position of
dictating or weakness or strength or anything like
that, but from a position of mutual interest and
mutual benefit.
ROBERTS: Michael Ware, the United States military
believes that these parts for these IEDs are coming
from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Al-Quds
division.
What is the Al-Quds division? And what can be done to
stop the cross-border traffic of this type of
explosive device?
WARE: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's very hard.
You can restrict the flow, but you shall not stop it.
And the Quds Force, the Jerusalem Force, within the
Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps is its
extraterritorials; essentially, its Green Berets on
black operations would be a rough equivalent from an
American point of view. And, according to U.S.
intelligence, they answer not to the armed forces,
but directly to the office of Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself.
ROBERTS: And, Christiane, even if Iran were to be
found to be supplying these IEDs, or even the parts
for them, what could the United States really do?
During the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, the
U.S. was very openly supplying the Mujahedeen with
the service-to-air missile launchers to knock down
Russian helicopters.
AMANPOUR: To try to stop it, whatever it is, clearly,
would need engagement. That seems to be the most
logical way to try to figure out what's going on, and
try to have some influence on it.
You remember this incredible moment many months ago
now, it seems, when the then-U.S. Ambassador to
Zalmay Khalilzad was meant to be having talks with
Iranian counterparts precisely about this kind of
thing, andthen those talks were canceled abruptly, at
the last minute.
I think that most people looking in believe that it's
got to have -- there's got to be some kind of
engagement on this issue, and that it's not going to
be stopped militarily.
ROBERTS: And, until there is, it looks like American
solders and Marines will keep fighting and dying at
the hands of these devices.
Christiane Amanpour in London, Michael Ware in
Baghdad, as always, thanks.