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The rivalry between the US and Iran extends throughout the Middle East, but is most palpable in Baghdad, where the two countries trade accusations and vie for influence over Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government. Washington's ambassador to Iraq tells The Irish Timesthat Iran is an insidious hand, encouraging violence and supplying arms; his Iranian counterpart claims there will be no peace in Iraq until the US occupation ends

FOR US AMBASSADOR Ryan Crocker, it's getting personal. When Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki took on a Shia Muslim militia in late March, "those militia responded very violently, both in Basra and here in Baghdad", according to Crocker.