Iran says US pullout will bring stability

Tehran: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the visiting Iraqi prime minister during talks on Wednesday that the way to end instability in Iraq was for US forces to withdraw, Iran's state-run television reported.

Nouri Al Maliki was on his first visit to Iran since he came to office in May.

In the latest sign of increasing cooperation, the two countries have reached a deal for developing joint oil fields that straddle their borders, and eventually Iraq would send crude to refineries in Iran for processing, Iraq's Oil Ministry said yesterday.

Khamenei said Iran considers it an "obligation" to support Iraq's post-Saddam government.

But Khamenei made clear Iran wants to see US troops leave Iraq. "Part of [Iraq's] sufferings have been due to the actions of the former regime and part is due to the presence of occupiers in Iraq," Khamenei told Al Maliki, according to the Iranian state news agency.

The United States has repeatedly accused Tehran of interfering in Iraqi politics, harbouring Al Qaida fugitives and allowing insurgents to cross the porous border.