Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the number-two commander in Iraq, has told the New York Times that Shiite terrorists are killing U.S. soldiers with lethal bombs believed to be supplied by Iran.

In an article Tuesday, the Times also cited sources within the United States military who stated that attacks on “American-led forces using a lethal type of roadside bomb … reached a new high in July.” According to the sources, the bombs, known as explosively formed penetrators, were used in 99 separate attacks last month, and “accounted for one third of the combat deaths suffered by the American-led forces” (ibid.).

American intelligence officials say the deadly weapons, which fire a semi-molten copper slug capable of penetrating the armor of a Humvee, are used primarily by Shiite terrorists and are supplied by Iran’s notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

The Times also showed that the number of penetrator attacks has risen steadily in recent months, and that the number of such attacks in July was roughly double the number in January.

General Odierno also explained that in addition to supplying Shiite terrorists with these lethal bombs, Tehran has been increasing its support of Shiite terrorists in Iraq through other means. “Over the last three to four months [Iranian backing of terrorist cells] has picked up in terms of equipment, training and dollars,” he said. Apparently Iran is also supplying Shiite groups with rocket launchers and rockets, as well as 122-millimeter mortars.

These comments by the U.S. general in charge of day-to-day operations in Iraq come just as the U.S. government is embracing Iran with diplomacy. Representatives from America and Iran, as well as Iraq, conducted high-level talks in May and July this year; this past Monday delegates from all three nations gathered in Baghdad to further discuss the security situation in Iraq.

It is perplexing to reconcile the fact that America’s diplomatic efforts with Iran are occurring simultaneously with Tehran stepping up its support of Iraq’s Shiite terrorists.

If Iran was truly concerned about Iraq’s security, and serious about conducting diplomacy with the U.S. government, it would stop supplying Iraqi terrorist groups with lethal roadside bombs and other weapons. Read “The Two Faces of Iran” to learn why this is unlikely to happen.