Iran has now superseded the US as the most influential power in Iraq

[kpete]

US interventions have boosted Iran, says report

Staff and agencies
Wednesday August 23, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

The US-led "war on terror" has bolstered Iran's power and influence in the Middle East, especially over its neighbour and former enemy Iraq, a thinktank said today.

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Israel's conflict with the Palestinians and its invasion of Lebanon had also put Iran "in a position of considerable strength" in the Middle East, said the thinktank.

Unless stability could be restored to the region, Iran's power will continue to grow, according to the report published by Chatham House

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In particular, Iran has now superseded the US as the most influential power in Iraq, regarding its former adversary as its "own backyard". It is also a "prominent presence" in its other war-torn neighbour, Afghanistan, according to Chatham House's analysts.

Full text
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/pdf/research/mep/Iran0806.pdf

http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1856362,00.html