Iran undecided on global meet on Iraq

Tehran: Iran will decide after talks with Iraq's foreign minister whether it will attend an international meeting in early May to discuss the conflict in its neighbour, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

Egypt will host a high-level meeting of a group of countries that includes , and the in the first week of May to discuss how to stop the violence in. The conference is a follow-up to one in Baghdad in March.

An Iranian newspaper reported earlier this month that Iran might not take part if US forces do not release five Iranians they are holding in Iraq.

But Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said Iran had not linked the meeting with other issues.

"About participating or not participating, or the level of participation, this is still under examination," Hosseini told a regular briefing.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki would hold talks with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshiyar Zebari this week, he said.

"After that we will announce our final decision," Hosseini said. "The problem is the place and the context of the meeting," he added without elaborating.

The accuses and of furthering instability in Iraq. Damascus and Tehran deny the charge.