By Khalid al-Ansary and Waleed Ibrahim BAGHDAD, May 1 (Reuters) - A delegation from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ruling bloc has gone to Iran to press Tehran to stop backing Shi'ite militiamen, a senior member of parliament from the bloc said on Thursday. "The UIA has decided to send a delegation to press the Iranian government to stop financing and supporting the armed groups," said Sami al-Askari, referring to the United Iraqi Alliance, which includes the main Shi'ite parties supporting Maliki. "They left yesterday for Iran." Jalal al-Din al-Sagheer, another senior UIA member of parliament, said the delegation was sent after the "serious deterioration that has recently taken place in security in Iraq". "The delegation will ask the government of Iran to continue to support the government of Maliki and continue to support stability in Iraq," he said, although he would not confirm that it would raise the issue of Iranian support for militias. U.S. officials have long accused Iran of supplying rockets, advanced roadside bombs and training to Shi'ite fighters in Iraq. Iran has denied supporting militias, which profess loyalty to anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Iraq's Shi'ite-led government has said it wants good ties with Shi'ite Iran. Maliki launched a crackdown against Sadr's militia in late March that met fierce resistance from well-armed fighters, and he says he is determined to disarm them. Major-General Qassim Moussawi, Iraqi spokesman for security in Baghdad, said at a news conference this week that Iraq had seized Iranian-made missiles and heavy weapons in the last four weeks in the capital. U.S. officials say they have collected proof of Iranian weapons that have arrived recently in Iraq, but were holding off making a public display of their evidence so that Iraqis could make their case to Iran first. "The Iraqis wish to first show what they have to the Iranian government before they show the world," an official travelling with U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday. "First and foremost, it's an attempt to say: 'Hey, listen: we know what you are up to. This is not helpful. Cut it out!'" On Wednesday the Iraqi Defence Ministry said it had put on display weapons, including rocket launchers, seized from Shi'ite militia fighters in the southern city of Basra. "Some of the weapons were manufactured in 2008, which means they are being smuggled in without difficulty," the statement quoted Lieutenant-General Mohan al-Furaiji, commander of Iraqi forces in southern Iraq, as saying, although he did not specify where the weapons were made. U.S. officials say Sadr himself is now based in Iran. Sagheer denied reports the delegation would meet the cleric. (Additional reporting by David Morgan in Mexico City, Kristin Roberts in Washington and Peter Graff and Aseel Kami in Baghdad; writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Stephen Weeks)
Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih speaks during an interview with Reuters in Baghdad April 28, 2008. Iraq's government will pursue its war on militias but must avoid isolating the movement ...
