Crossing borders

Clearly, Iran has troops surging into Iraq.

Hours after he unveiled a tough new policy on Wednesday to "seek out and destroy" Iranian and Syrian-supported networks supplying Iraqi insurgents and sectarian militias, five Iranians were seized by US forces in an early morning raid on an Iranian government office in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil.

A US military statement said that an initial investigation found the detainees were linked to the Qods force of the Iranian revolutionary guard, "an organisation known for providing funds, weapons, improvised explosive device technology and training to extremist groups attempting to destabilise the government of Iraq and attack coalition forces".

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Mohammed Ali Hosseini, denied the claims, insisting that the detainees had been working to establish a consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan and had diplomatic immunity. "Their job was basically consular, official and in the framework of regulations. What the Americans express is incorrect and hyperbole against Iran in order to justify their actions," Hosseini said.

"The United States should release all five persons, prevent possible similar acts and compensate damages."

The US national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, insisted that the US had the authority to detain anyone who "put our people at risk" in Iraq.

"We are going to need to deal with what Iran is doing inside Iraq," Hadley said, adding that the US would pursue a similar policy towards Syrian support for Iraqi insurgents and militias.

"We know there are jihadists moving from Syria into Iraq ... We know also that Iran is supplying elements in Iraq that are attacking Iraqis and attacking our forces," Hadley said. "What the president made very clear is these are activities that are going on in Iraq that are unacceptable. They put our people at risk. He said very clearly that we will take action against those. We will interdict their operations, we will disrupt their supply lines, we will disrupt these attacks."

Meanwhile, in the forgotten war.

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 15 — Senior American officials said Tuesday that they had seen a threefold surge in insurgent attacks in Afghanistan in recent months, caused by militants coming across the border with Pakistan, and they vowed to hold new talks with Pakistani officials on curbing the influx.

Of particular concern, the officials said, has been rise in attacks by Taliban and other militants launched from remote and largely ungoverned remote tribal areas in Pakistan into eastern Afghanistan, where most American combat forces are based.

“The border area is a problem,” said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who is making his first visit to Afghanistan since taking office. He told reporters after meeting with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, that more attacks were “coming across the border,” including some from Al Qaeda networks.

No word on when we'll begin detaining Pakistani consular officials.