Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Saturday that Iraq is not capable of searching all Iranian cargo planes using its airspace to deliver arms shipments to Syria.

"Iraq has no ability to search all Iranian aircraft heading for Syria," Maliki told reporters at a news conference here.



Maliki said Iraq is committed to "the application of the Iraqi constitution which prohibit passing arms across the Iraqi territories," as well as "the sanctions imposed on Syria."



"But other countries don't," he said, "I call on them not to support the opposition in Syria by qualitative weapons, some of which began to flow to Iraq."



The Iraqi authorities previously forced several Iranian cargo planes from Tehran to Damascus to land in Baghdad airport for security search, and later allowed them to continue their journey after finding nothing banned.



U.S. officials and media have reported suspicions that Iranian aircraft are carrying weapons to Syria via Iraqi airspace, but Baghdad repeatedly refused the allegations, saying that the Iranian flights are carrying humanitarian aid.