Iraq ready to boost ties with Iran: FM

Xinhua ^

[jmc1969]

Iraq is ready to boost ties with Iran, a neighboring country which fought a bitter war with Saddam Hussein's regime in 1980-1988, the Iraqi foreign minister said Tuesday.

"We have been working with Iran to open a new page in the bilateral relationship," Hoshiar al-Zebari told a press conference jointly held with his visiting Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharazi.

For his part, Kharazi pledged to support Iraq's transitional government led by Shiite Islamist Ibrahim al-Jaafari, whose cabinet was sworn in on April 28, three months after the landmark election was held on Jan. 30.

Kharazi expressed expectations that a close cooperation with Iraq will be forged, adding a joint committee will be set up to control the security in the region.

The relation between the two former rivals had remained frosty until Iraq's Shiite majority gained political clout after the Jan. 30 election.

[jmc1969]

Is any suprise that Sadr is coming out of the woodwork again demanding the US leave Iraq. I am pretty weary of this joint committee Iran wants to set up to "control the security in the region". Iran would like nothing better then to have us gone and the Shia dependent on their military. I wouldn't be suprised if Iran tries to pull off another Beruit in Iraq to try to scare us out.