Monday, April 30, 2007
Iran agrees to participate in Sharm el-Sheikh Iraq conference
Region, Politics
(AP) - Iran agreed Sunday to join the U.S. and other countries at a conference on Iraq this week, raising hopes the government in Tehran would help stabilize its violent neighbor and stem the flow of guns and bombs over the border. In an apparent effort to drive home that point, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told an Iranian envoy that the persistent violence in Iraq, some of it carried out by the Shiite militias Iran is accused of arming, could spill over into neighboring countries, including those that are "supposed to support the Iraqi government."
Al-Maliki's national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, said Sunday that the U.S. has not provided Iraq with any "solid evidence" that Iran is arming fighters in Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is also expected to attend the Iraq conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheik on Thursday and Friday, raising the possibility of a rare direct encounter between high-level U.S. and Iranian officials. In Washington, Rice would not rule out a meeting with the Iranians, whose delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
Iraqi leaders had been pressing for the Iranians to attend the meeting in Sharm el-Sheik for weeks, but Iran refused to commit, in part because of fears that it would come under pressure from the U.S. and others about its nuclear program. In addition, the Iranians have been lobbying for release of five Iranians held by the U.S. in Iraq since January. The U.S. has accused the five of links to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard unit that arms and trains Shiite extremists in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.
The decision to attend "came after consultations between Iraqi officials and the Iranian president," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in an interview with Iranian state television. Senior Iranian envoy Ali Larijani flew to Baghdad on Sunday for talks with al-Maliki and other senior Iraqi officials, the highest-ranking Iranian official to visit Iraq since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. During their meeting, Larijani told al-Maliki that all countries that want stability in the region "have no choice but to support Iraq's elected government."
Iraq's other neighbors as well as Egypt, Bahrain and representatives of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members have also agreed to attend the meeting. Apart from security issues, the U.S. and Iraq hope the conference will produce an agreement to forgive Iraq's huge debts and offer financial assistance in return for an Iraqi pledge to implement political and economic reforms.
But Iraq's Arab neighbors are expected to demand that the Baghdad government, dominated by Shiites and Kurds, do more to reach out to its own disgruntled Sunni Arabs before they pledge substantial aid. On Sunday, President Bush called Iraq's Sunni vice president, Tariq al-Hashimi, to discuss the importance of the reconciliation process and the need for all Iraqi parties to work together to stabilize the country, according to Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
The Iraqis, for their part, were anxious for the Iranians to attend to give them leverage against their Sunni-dominated neighbors and to help press their case that Sunni extremists, including al-Qaida, pose the gravest threat to stability.
Al-Maliki's national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, said Sunday that the U.S. has not provided Iraq with any "solid evidence" that Iran is arming fighters in Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is also expected to attend the Iraq conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheik on Thursday and Friday, raising the possibility of a rare direct encounter between high-level U.S. and Iranian officials. In Washington, Rice would not rule out a meeting with the Iranians, whose delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
Iraqi leaders had been pressing for the Iranians to attend the meeting in Sharm el-Sheik for weeks, but Iran refused to commit, in part because of fears that it would come under pressure from the U.S. and others about its nuclear program. In addition, the Iranians have been lobbying for release of five Iranians held by the U.S. in Iraq since January. The U.S. has accused the five of links to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard unit that arms and trains Shiite extremists in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.
The decision to attend "came after consultations between Iraqi officials and the Iranian president," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in an interview with Iranian state television. Senior Iranian envoy Ali Larijani flew to Baghdad on Sunday for talks with al-Maliki and other senior Iraqi officials, the highest-ranking Iranian official to visit Iraq since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. During their meeting, Larijani told al-Maliki that all countries that want stability in the region "have no choice but to support Iraq's elected government."
Iraq's other neighbors as well as Egypt, Bahrain and representatives of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members have also agreed to attend the meeting. Apart from security issues, the U.S. and Iraq hope the conference will produce an agreement to forgive Iraq's huge debts and offer financial assistance in return for an Iraqi pledge to implement political and economic reforms.
But Iraq's Arab neighbors are expected to demand that the Baghdad government, dominated by Shiites and Kurds, do more to reach out to its own disgruntled Sunni Arabs before they pledge substantial aid. On Sunday, President Bush called Iraq's Sunni vice president, Tariq al-Hashimi, to discuss the importance of the reconciliation process and the need for all Iraqi parties to work together to stabilize the country, according to Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
The Iraqis, for their part, were anxious for the Iranians to attend to give them leverage against their Sunni-dominated neighbors and to help press their case that Sunni extremists, including al-Qaida, pose the gravest threat to stability.
Labels: Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, Ali Larijani, Condoleezza Rice, Iran, Manouchehr Mottaki, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, Nouri Al-Maliki, Sharm al-Sheikh Conference
