Region | Iran

Iran weighs US talks plan for Iraq

Iran is considering "proposals" which it has received from the United States for talks about Iraq's security, a foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 00:00 March 4, 2007
  • Gulf News

  • King Abdullah during his meeting with Ahmadinejad in Riyadh yesterday. Before leaving Tehran, Ahmadinejad said he would discuss how Iran and the kingdom can work together to reduce tensions in the Middle East.
  • Image Credit: Reuters

Tehran: Iran is considering "proposals" which it has received from the United States for talks about Iraq's security, a foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday.

"The Americans have recently contacted Iran through different channels requesting talks about Iraqi issues, in particular about security," Mohammad Ali Hosseini told state television. "We are studying these proposals."

Hosseini did not specify if he was referring to a security conference on Iraq planned for March which is set to include both the United States and Iraq's neighbours including Iran. "We are ready to put all our resources at the Iraqi government's disposal to improve stability and security," the spokesman added.

The announcements came as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on his first official visit to Saudi Arabia, held crucial talks yesterday with King Abdullah that are being touted as a possible means to defuse sectarian tensions in Iraq and Lebanon, and prevent Iran from sliding further into isolation.

Brisk diplomacy

Expectations have been high that the meeting would go beyond discussions and produce tangible results, because it follows weeks of brisk diplomacy between Iran and Saudi Arabia by top envoys from both countries.

Iran's top security official Ali Larijani said last week that Tehran would take part in the March conference so long as it was in the interests of its violence-plagued neighbour.



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