Iraq said on Saturday it will step up searches of Iranian flights via its airspace to Syria, days after US Secretary of State John Kerry publicly criticised Baghdad for turning a blind eye to them. But while Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's spokesman spoke of newly tightened restrictions on Iranian flights to Syria, the head of Iraq's civil aviation authority acknowledged that no planes had been searched since October.
"Because of a lot of information which referred to transportation of weapons, we have increased the activity of inspections," Maliki's spokesman Ali Mussawi told AFP. "We will carry out more random searches, to be assured that there is no weapons transfer." Asked if the move was in response to Kerry's comments last Sunday during a surprise visit to Baghdad, Mussawi replied: "No one has provided us with evidence - just information."
Kerry had told reporters while in Baghdad that he "made very clear to the prime minister that the overflights from Iran are in fact helping to sustain President (Bashar) al-Assad and his regime." He told Maliki that American politicians were "watching what Iraq is doing" and noted that anything that helped Assad was "problematic"
For months, Washington has accused Baghdad of turning a blind eye as Tehran sends military equipment through Iraqi airspace, and has called on authorities to make random, unannounced inspections. "They are suspending their disbelief, looking the other way, and averting their gaze," a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.