BAGHDAD - Iraq said it had started asking Syria-bound Iranian
planes to land in Baghdad for inspections on Tuesday, after promising Washington
it would carry out random searches to stop arms getting through to
Damascus.
Authorities said they had made their first inspection of an
Iranian aircraft on Tuesday afternoon and let it fly on to Syria after finding
no weapons.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari promised the searches
on Sunday in response to US concerns Tehran is shipping arms to its ally
Syrian President Bashar Assad to help him fight an 18-month-old revolt.