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Chalabi Told Iran U.S. Had Codes
Wednesday June 2, 2004 5:16 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) - Ahmad Chalabi, the former Iraqi exile once regarded as a friend of the Bush administration, revealed to Iran that the United States had broken the code of its intelligence service, according to broadcast and published reports.
CBS News reported Tuesday that Chalabi had told an Iranian intelligence official that the United States had cracked its codes, allowing U.S. agents to read Iran's secret communications. By revealing such information, Chalabi would have exposed one of the United States' most important sources of information about Iran.
The New York Times, quoting anonymous U.S. intelligence officials, reported on its Web site Tuesday that Chalabi told the Baghdad chief of the Iranian spy service that the United States was reading its communications. The Iranian spy described the conversation in a message to Tehran, which was intercepted by U.S. intelligence.
A CIA official declined to comment on the reports Tuesday night.
The American officials quoted by the Times said the Iranian spy, in the message to Tehran, reported that Chalabi had said he had gotten the information from an American who had been drunk.
CBS reported that FBI agents are questioning Defense Department officials in an effort to find out who gave such information to Chalabi. The Times reported that the FBI expects to interview civilians at the Pentagon who were strong supporters of Chalabi.
Chalabi, a member of the Shiite Islamic sect to which the majority of Iranians and Iraqis belong, once was a favorite of Pentagon officials. He recently came under suspicion that he might have handed over sensitive information to Iran about the U.S. occupation.
He had provided intelligence to the Bush administration about weapons of mass destruction, which was used to justify the U.S. war against Iraq, but his information came under major criticism after no weapons were found.
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