Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Sunday that he was determined to prevent the illegal smuggling of arms from Iran to Syria. Speaking to Arab media, Zebari said that Iraq had already forced down Iranian planes for inspection and had turned them back out of Iraqi airspace after finding that they were carrying weapons bound for Syria. He said that the Iraqi government had promised the United States that it would prevent such Iranian flights over its territory, and the a formal request had been made to Tehran to halt the flights.

Earlier, Iraq denied reports that it had allowed Iran to smuggle arms and soldiers over its territory to Syria.