Posted on 05/26/2006 12:59:45 PM PDT by familyop
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iran has ruled out for now proposed talks with the United States over the future of Iraq because of Washington's "negative" attitude, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Friday.
"We had decided to have direct talks on the issue of Iraq with Americans," Mottaki, visiting Baghdad, said at a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Hoshiyar Zebari.
"Unfortunately, the American side tried to use this decision as propaganda and they raised some other issues. They tried to create a negative atmosphere and that's why the decision which was taken for the time being is suspended," he added.
After meeting new Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Mottaki also warned the United States it would face retaliation if it mounted any attack on the Islamic Republic.
"In the event that Americans attack Iran anywhere, Iran will respond with an attack in that place," he told a separate news conference with Iraqi parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani.
Mottaki, whose visit has spotlighted Shi'ite Iran's role in its U.S.-occupied neighbour, also said Tehran would host a regional meeting on Iraq but did not specify when.
He met Maliki less than a week after the Shi'ite Islamist formed a national unity government pledging to curb persistent bloodshed that has shown no sign of abating.
Violence raged across the country again on Friday. One bombing that killed nine in Baghdad, was followed by another one near a crowded market in the capital that killed at least 10 and wounded 18, police said.
The United States has no diplomatic relations with Iran. President George W. Bush has authorised his ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, to hold talks with Iran on what Washington says is meddling there by Tehran, but none have so far taken place amid reports of divisions in the U.S. administration.
In April, Washington said talks with Iran were on hold as Iraq's government was being formed. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also said last month there was no need for such talks for the time being.
IRAN-IRAQ TIES
Mottaki's trip was the second such visit from Iran since U.S.-led forces overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003 and oversaw the election of an Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim leadership close to the Islamic Republic.
Saddam's once-dominant Sunni Arab minority is suspicious of non-Arab Iran. Its leaders accuse Tehran of fomenting unrest in Iraq to shackle U.S. military power in the region and of coveting oil reserves in Iraq's Shi'ite south.
U.S. and British officials also accuse Iranian forces of providing bomb-making expertise and equipment to Iraqis.
Mottaki said Tehran would invite Iraq's neighbours and Egypt for a meeting on the country at "the first opportunity".
"The regional countries at this meeting will emphasise the continuation of a joint determination to help restore peace and security in Iraq," he said.
In a sign of how relations between Iraq and Iran have improved since Saddam's downfall, Zebari said Tehran had the right to develop a peaceful nuclear programme.
Washington and Tehran are fiercely at odds over Western accusations that Iran's nuclear power programme is a cover for making weapons. Iran says it is seeking only nuclear energy.
"We believe in the wisdom of the Islamic Republic leadership in handling this subject and we are against any tension in the situation with the Islamic Republic," said Zebari, a Kurd.
Bush said in Washington on Thursday he would consider providing incentives to Iran if it agreed to a suspension of uranium enrichment activities.
At a White House news conference with Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush said they spent a lot of time discussing strategy on how to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis.
Bush also cited the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal as America's "biggest mistake" in Iraq and admitted that aggressive language from him about the Sunni insurgents -- telling them to "bring 'em on" in 2003 -- may have "sent the wrong message".
(Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald, Aseel Kami, Ahmed Rasheed, Michael Georgy and Fredrik Dahl in Baghdad)
And quite a few varied interests (anti-American interests, certain market interests--many) in all kinds of political groups (including "conservative") are against any military action on Iran.
I wasn't aware that we'd asked for talks.
who wrote this article and title???
Here's the title of a recent story published by Fox News. It's all disgusting.
"Canadian Newspaper Apologizes for Erroneous Story on Iran Dress Code Law"
Besides the various anti-American interests, there are financial interests (import interests that fear high freight prices, for one) in our USA against doing anything about Iran acquiring/developing nuclear weapons. They pay the media (for ads and more).
The best outlet to get news from might be the one noticable group in favor of anti-mullah uprisings in Iran. In at least one case, an Islamist's "terrorist" is our friend.
No report on fate of 250 ex-MKO terrorist members
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1514404/posts
Excerpt from the Persian Journal piece:
"The US however, in a double-standard approach and despite recognizing MKO as a terrorist group, has very close links with it."
Some Iranians want us to take out Iran's nuclear sites and put the mullahs out of business. 0thers want us to slowly ooze into a trap.
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