Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani yesterday met with Ali Larijani, the top national security adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. (Yes, all three of them are named Ali.) Not only are they Ali's, but increasingly them seem to be allies as well. Sistani, the brains behind the (now partially crumbling) pan-Shia alliance in Iraq, the United Iraqi Alliance,won't meet U.S. officials, but he's happy to tete-a-tete with Khamenei's minions. Once again, this underscores the vast importance of Iran in Iraqi Shia circles.

After seeing Sistani, Larijani said: "The Americans themselves know Iran has been supporting the political process in Iraq. The Americans also know from which countries those terrorists come to Iraq." True enough, Iran is supporting the so-called political process in Iraq, if by that he means the creation of a Shia-dominated sectarian regime. And though he didn't name the countries supporting terrorism, Larijani clearly meant Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia, Iran's chief rival for dominance in the Persian Gulf.