Iran training Iraqi death squads?

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"Loose lips sink ships" was a popular slogan during World War II, a reminder that misplaced words could help the enemy. But the reverse is also true: Purposely placed words can sink the enemy's ships.

At a time when President Bush keeps reminding Iran that "all options are on the table," a group opposed to the regime reveals new information on the Islamic republic's involvement in Iraq.

An Iranian opposition group says Iran's al-Quds force is heavily involved in training Iraqi death squads and militias. The latest reports from the Mujaheedin-e-Khalq, or the MeK, accuse the Iranian regime of secretly engaging in "the organization and training of large Iraqi terrorist networks in Iran and sending them back to Iraq."

The group opposed to the ruling clergy in Tehran says Iran's ultimate goal is to destabilize Iraq, forcing U.S. troops to leave the country, thus paving the way for the establishment of an Islamic republic in Iraq.

Alireza Jafarzadeh, an Iranian opposed to the current regime in Tehran, divulged in New York Tuesday information he received from sources inside Iran -- mainly from the MeK -- with which he enjoys close ties. The MeK is lobbying hard to get off Washington's list of terrorist organizations and recently released a list of nearly 32,000 Iraqis on Tehran's payroll, including senior Iraqi government officials.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force has allocated several bases in the cities of Tehran, Karaj, Qom, Isfahan, as well as provinces near Iraqi borders, such as Kermanshah, Ilam, Kurdistan and Khuzestan -- using veteran commanders -- to train death squads and terrorist networks, the Iranian dissident said.

These individuals travel to Iran in different groups, under different covers and use various legal and illegal borders, and go back to Iraq after their training is complete. According to information obtained by the MeK, since February 2006 Iraqi militias affiliated with the Quds Force, such as the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq -- SCIRI -- the Badr Corps, Hezbollah, Islamic Revolution Mujahideen, and Seyyed-ol-Shohada Movement have traveled to Iran in groups and are trained in various camps of the Quds Force.

The training includes urban guerrilla warfare, instruction on using light and semi-heavy weapons, mortars, missiles, sniping techniques, explosives and shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles.

Still, Mr. Jafarzadeh says, the Iraqi militias are trained under the command of IRGC Brig. Gen. Mohammad Shahlaei, a Quds Force veteran commander in the Ramezan base. Information from the MeK in Iran indicates the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps operates a number of secret bases where Iraqi terrorists are trained.

Among them are the Imam Ali Base in northern Tehran's Alborz-kooh Street, north of Saad-abad Palace. South of this base is another IRGC base called "Al-Zahra," designed to train women. The MeK says: "There are many veteran instructors in Imam Ali base, with extensive experience in terrorist activities. The base is under the command of a Revolutionary Guard officer named Hossein Lotfi."