Yesterday I blogged about Iran’s influence in Iraq, and the long reach of Iran’s secret intelligence service, including the apparent organizing of the torture prisons run by the Interior Ministry. It’s getting worse.

The Times reports that Iran is shipping trucks full of counterfeit ballots into Iraq. The paper found a source at the Interior Ministry who revealed that the truck seized by police contained “thousands of forged ballots, and it went on

The Iranian truck driver told the police under interrogation that at least three other trucks filled with ballots had crossed from Iran at different spots along the border.

Whatever else happens in tomorrow’s election, it’s important to remember that elections in Iraq are taking place under wartime conditions. Gangs, armed militias, mafia-like political parties, warlords, village chieftains, and tribal kingpins rule the vote. For every voter who takes his responsibility as an independent voter seriously, there are many more who vote the way they are told. And the big boss is Ayatollah Sistani, who is shepherding his credulous flock into supporting the Shiite religious party bloc.

Incidentally, the Times report is notable for the following flat statement, unsourced:

Agents of the Iranian government are believed to be supporting the two main Shiite political parties here – the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and the Dawa Party – with money and other assistance.