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Iran-Iraq border trade heavy but no weapons found Luke Baker Business is booming on the Iran-Iraq border. Despite a war in one country and Western sanctions against the other's nuclear program, trucks full of everything from fresh produce to furniture and clothes to consumer electronics trundle to the 1,400 km (900 mile) frontier every day. But British officials say along with trade in legitimate goods, which has grown in the past year, there is also a steady flow of "lethal aid" from Iran to Iraq, including rockets and explosives used to make road-side bombs. Iran denies arming Iraqi Shia Muslim militias, which have carried out scores of deadly attacks against British and American troops in Iraq. But British officials are sure Iranian weaponry is coming through. As evidence they mention rocket shrapnel that bears Iranian markings, but at the same time say they have no concrete proof that Iran is supplying Iraq.
"It's fair to say that no one has caught anyone red-handed bringing in lethal aid across the border," said Major Anthony Lamb, who oversees training of Iraqi border enforcement units. "Hundreds of searches are carried out every day, but as yet, there hasn't been a direct seizure of lethal aid." Lamb says on some days, when British forces visit the major border crossing points in southern Iraq, they can see some Iranian trucks turning back, but there's no certainty they're doing so because they're carrying illicit weapons. "They could be carrying ladies' underwear and be embarrassed about that," he said. SHEEP SMUGGLING What's likely, those who monitor the border say, is either that corruption in the form of bribes is allowing weaponry to come through, or smugglers are managing to move small amounts at a time across the vast, porous border. As well as being nearly 1,500 km long, the border is mountainous in the north and marshy in large parts of the south, making it ideal for clandestine movement. Nomadic tribes have also long made their home along large sections of the frontier. "Trade between tribes on either side has existed for centuries. The border means nothing to them," said Lamb. "For some, economic smuggling has long been a way of life. They might smuggle sheep, or other things."
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