A top US military officer said Monday that Iran's influence has waned in neighbouring Iraq, where prolonged negotiations have struggled to decide on a new government. "Probably in the last couple months, in this period of government formation, I think that we think that the Iranian influence has diminished somewhat," said Lieutenant General Robert Cone, the deputy commander of US operations in Iraq.
Cone gave a nuanced take on the role of Iran, which is a sworn foe of the United States but also strongly opposed Saddam Hussein's regime. "We see all sorts of Iranian influence - some of it positive, in fact," Cone told reporters in Washington by video-link. "We believe some of it (is) negative, although it's very difficult to attribute that to the Iranian government," he said, explaining that weapons heading across the border could come from non-government players.