BAGHDAD, january 26 Three years after Washington ousted Saddam

Hussein from power, some Shi’ite leaders and US allies say it is switching favour to the ex-leader’s Sunni minority to counter Iran’s nuclear ambitions. US officials say the efforts to “reach out” to Sunni Arabs are needed to undermine a violent insurgency they are waging and to foster a stable government.

But Shi’ite leaders brought to power by the US-led invasion also see an attempt to clip their wings because of the influence over them of neighboring Shi’ite Iran.

“The Americans are focusing on the Sunnis and trying to get them into the political process even at the expense of others,” said an official in the Shi’ite Alliance bloc, which won a near majority in the parliament elected last month.

“We’ve been talking a lot about this. The Americans are so focused on Sunni interests that their motivation goes beyond just promoting national unity.” The impression comes as US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad sits down at the negotiating table with rival groups jockeying for power in a coalition cabinet.

Western diplomats in Baghdad also see an interplay with US policy toward Iran in those talks. “The increased tension between Iran and the US on the nuclear issue is affecting relations between Washington and the Shi’ites here,” one European diplomat said. “They are trying to find someone else, some other allies who will not turn against them (in Iraq) if things heat up with Iran.”

US officials deny a policy shift. They have made vocal criticism of Tehran’s shadowy role in its biggest Arab neighbour, notably over allegations that Iranians were supplying arms to Iraqi insurgents.

Relations between Iraq and Iran took a new turn after Saddam’s ousting. The two countries exchanged high-level visits, and the US official said Washington wanted their relations to be good. “We have ... major problems with what Iran is doing. However, we hope that Iraq and Iran can have a good bilateral relationship,” he said. “But that in turn depends on the Iranians respecting Iraqi national sovereignty ... Facilitating weapons flows is not a good neighbourly act.”

Britain, facing powerful Shi’ite militias in southern Iraq, has accused Iranians of providing deadly bombs and training. The United States, along with Britain, France and Germany, want the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer Iran to the US Security Council for possible sanctions because of its nuclear programme. Analysts say Iran appears confident it can deter the US from action against it over the nuclear issue out of fear about what it may do in Iraq.