Iraq: Men linked to Iran planned sabotage

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq said Tuesday that it had intercepted operatives of a terrorist organization linked to neighboring Iran who were planning sabotage attacks against the Iraqi regime.

Two men were shown on Iraqi television with the word "criminal" appearing above their names on the screen. They were identified as Hamza Qassim Sabbat, known as Abu Haithem, and Ibrahim Abid Jassim, known as Abu Ayoub.

The two were said to have confessed and been sentenced. It isn't clear what their sentences were or whether they were carried out. The sentence for treason in Iraq is death.

The men said they were involved in sabotage missions against the ruling Baath party, the Iraqi government said.

On Iraqi television, Sabbat said that a U.S. attack against Iraq was expected after September 11 and his group wanted to take advantage of the likely chaos.

"We brought in some arms and some ammunition and received funds and equipment to prepare the situation since the idea there was that after Afghanistan the strike will be on Iraq," he said.

Jassim's statement was similar.

"More sums of money than before was given to us to buy new cars and places to be used in acts of sabotage to coincide with the American-British attack and to exploit this attack," Jassim said.

One of the men said he developed contacts in Iran in the early 1980s during the 1980-1988 war between Iran and Iraq. Both said they also were involved in the 1991 uprising against the Iraqi regime.

A communique published by the state-run Iraqi News Agency said that security agents "got through the dens of the lobbies of treason."

The statement said the pair had explained "the terrorist actions of Iranian regime operatives that follow the enemies' aims against our country and our people's stability."

It said Iraq considers this action "an obvious interference in the internal affairs and frankly targeting its sovereignty."

Last week, President Saddam Hussein's son, Uday Hussein, warned Iran not to interfere if anything, such as a U.S. attack against his country, occurred.

-- CNN's Rym Brahimi contributed to this report.