Monday, July 23, 2007
Iran-U.S. Iraq security talks confirmed
International
(RFE/RL) - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari says Iran and the United States will hold a second round of talks on Iraq's security on July 24. Zebari said the ambassadors to Iraq from both countries will lead the talks in Baghdad. The meeting was confirmed today by Iran.
The two envoys, Ryan Crocker and Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, had a first round of talks in May, the highest-level meeting since 1980, when the United States and Tehran severed diplomatic relations after Iranian revolutionaries seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, keeping its diplomatic staff hostage for 444 days.The United States has long shunned direct contact with Iran, which it accuses of sponsoring terrorism and seeking to secretly develop nuclear weapons. But in the face of major problems in Iraq, Washington is searching for ways to stabilize the country, where Tehran has emerged as a major player since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
At the same time, Iran has called for the release of five Iranians detained in Iraq, whom the United States has said are the operations chief and other members of Irans elite Quds Force, which is accused of arming and training Iraqi militants. Iran says the five are diplomats in Iraq with permission of the government.
Labels: Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, Hoshyar Zibari, Iran, Iranian detainees, Ryan Crocker, U.S
Monday, July 02, 2007
Zebari presses for second round of Iran-U.S., talks while Iranians are granted access to detainees
Politics, Region
(Al Jazeera) - Hoshiyar Zebari, Iraq's foreign minister, said he was pressing the US and Iran to hold a second round of talks in Baghdad to follow up a landmark meeting in May, but that no date has been set. Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq, and Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, his Iranian counterpart, met in Baghdad on May 28 to discuss security in Iraq in what was the most high-profile meeting of the two arch enemies in almost three decades.
Both envoys described the talks as positive. Iraq has invited both sides to meet again but neither have publicly said they would accept. Zebari said: "We felt that there is a common interest in pursuing these talks, in having a second meeting, but no date has been agreed yet. "We are working on that. There would be a second round, I hope so."
Zebari also said on Sunday that the US embassy in Baghdad had agreed to give Iran consular access to five Iranians who were detained by US forces in northern Iraq in January. The US military says the five are linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and are backing fighters in Iraq. Iran says they are diplomats and has been requesting access to them.
Zebari said he hoped the consular visit to the detainees, who were taken seized in the Kurdish city of Arbil, would help ease tensions. There was no date for the visit, but it could happen any time, he said. The foreign minister said he understood a US military board would not review the case of the five men until October.
Both envoys described the talks as positive. Iraq has invited both sides to meet again but neither have publicly said they would accept. Zebari said: "We felt that there is a common interest in pursuing these talks, in having a second meeting, but no date has been agreed yet. "We are working on that. There would be a second round, I hope so."
Zebari also said on Sunday that the US embassy in Baghdad had agreed to give Iran consular access to five Iranians who were detained by US forces in northern Iraq in January. The US military says the five are linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and are backing fighters in Iraq. Iran says they are diplomats and has been requesting access to them.
Zebari said he hoped the consular visit to the detainees, who were taken seized in the Kurdish city of Arbil, would help ease tensions. There was no date for the visit, but it could happen any time, he said. The foreign minister said he understood a US military board would not review the case of the five men until October.
Labels: consular access, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, Hoshiyar Zebari, Iran, Iranian detainees, Ryan Crocker, U.S.
