Iraqi Trade Minister Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih Tuesday called for U.N. aid shipments being held "in the sea" near Iraq or at Iraq's borders to be released into the country.

CNN: Coalition blocking aid, says Iraq

But Iraqi Trade Minister Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih Tuesday said the U.S. and Britain were holding up shipments of food and medical supplies which Iraq would receive under the oil for food program.

CNN: British troops in southern Iraq.

However, this chain of succession was disrupted with the vanishing of the twelfth imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: A Nuclear Iran: The Case for Action