"Iraq 'Not Going to Be Pushed Around' by Iran"

"BAGHDAD — Iraq is "not going to be pushed around" by Iran, the top U.S. diplomat in Iraq said Saturday following an Iranian takeover of an oil well along the two nations' disputed border.

U.S. officials said they approved of Iraq's speedy defense of its sovereignty amid ongoing concerns over Iran's influence on its Mideast neighbor.

"It does speak to the overall view here that they are not going to be pushed around by Iran," U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Chris Hill told reporters.

Iranian forces earlier this week crossed into Iraq, seizing an oil well just over the border in the southern Maysan province. The takeover — which included planting an Iranian flag on the well — was met by protests from Baghdad.

It served as a dramatic display of the sometimes tense relations between the wary allies."