Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Iran ready for higher-level talks with U.S.
International
(Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi officials began work on Wednesday on setting up a security panel with Iran to try to end Iraq's bloodshed, and Tehran said it was open to higher-level talks with Washington. The work began one day after envoys from arch foes Iran and the United States met for a second time this year to discuss security in Iraq.
U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker had bluntly accused Tehran on Tuesday of stepping up its support for Iraqi militias in the two months since the first round of talks. Sectarian violence and worsening chaos in Iraq has pushed the United States and Iran, which have not had diplomatic ties since shortly after Iran's 1979 revolution, to seek common ground, with Iraq asking both for help.
But the two rounds of talks have produced few concrete steps apart from Tuesday's agreement to establish a trilateral security committee to investigate issues such as support for militias and al Qaeda in Iraq. U.S. political and military representatives in Baghdad were working on how to set up the committee and areas which it would investigate after Tuesday's talks.
"They'll talk to the Iraqis, who will then talk to the Iranians and we'll see how we proceed from there," a U.S. embassy spokesman said. Washington accuses Shi'ite Muslim Iran of fomenting violence in Iraq. Iran denies the charge and blames the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003 for the bloodshed between Iraq's majority Shi'ite and minority Sunni Arabs.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted on Wednesday as saying that Iran was ready for higher-level talks with Washington if asked. "It can be considered if Iran receives a formal request from America," Mottaki said. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency also quoted Mottaki as rejecting the accusations that Tehran backed Iraqi militants, saying the Americans were "trying to run away from their own mistakes."
U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker had bluntly accused Tehran on Tuesday of stepping up its support for Iraqi militias in the two months since the first round of talks. Sectarian violence and worsening chaos in Iraq has pushed the United States and Iran, which have not had diplomatic ties since shortly after Iran's 1979 revolution, to seek common ground, with Iraq asking both for help.
But the two rounds of talks have produced few concrete steps apart from Tuesday's agreement to establish a trilateral security committee to investigate issues such as support for militias and al Qaeda in Iraq. U.S. political and military representatives in Baghdad were working on how to set up the committee and areas which it would investigate after Tuesday's talks.
"They'll talk to the Iraqis, who will then talk to the Iranians and we'll see how we proceed from there," a U.S. embassy spokesman said. Washington accuses Shi'ite Muslim Iran of fomenting violence in Iraq. Iran denies the charge and blames the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003 for the bloodshed between Iraq's majority Shi'ite and minority Sunni Arabs.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted on Wednesday as saying that Iran was ready for higher-level talks with Washington if asked. "It can be considered if Iran receives a formal request from America," Mottaki said. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency also quoted Mottaki as rejecting the accusations that Tehran backed Iraqi militants, saying the Americans were "trying to run away from their own mistakes."
Labels: Fars news agency, Iran, Iraq, Manouchehr Mottaki, Ryan Crocker, U.S.
