U.S. and Iran Hold Rare Direct Talks

BAGHDAD (AP) -- U.S. and Iranian envoys exchanged direct talks Saturday on efforts to end Iraq's violence and bolster its government, opening limited but potentially significant contacts that could ease their nearly 28-year diplomatic freeze.

The discussions were confined to one session during a conference on Iraq stability, but they appeared to offer room for further interaction between the two nations _ which find themselves increasingly drawn toward common issues in Iraq as the nation's most influential allies.

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said he exchanged views with Iranian delegates "directly and in the presence of others" at the gathering led by Iraq's neighbors and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

He declined to give details of the contacts _ calling them only "constructive and businesslike and problem-solving" _ but noted that he raised U.S. assertions that Shiite militias receive weapons and assistance across the border from Iran.

The chief Iranian envoy, Abbas Araghchi, said he restated his country's demands for a clear timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces, which he insisted have made Iraq a magnet for extremists from across the Muslim world.

"Violence in Iraq is good for no country in the region," said Araghchi, deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, at a post-meeting news conference.

Araghchi said he did not meet privately with Khalilzad, but that all dialogue "was within the framework of the meeting" _ which he said had "very good interaction by all the delegations."

"The discussions were limited and focused on Iraq and I don't want to speculate after that," he said.

For Iran, opening more direct contacts with Washington could help promote their shared interests in Iraq, including trying to stamp out Sunni-led insurgents. U.S. officials, meanwhile, need the support of Iranian-allied political groups in Iraq to help contain Shiite militias.

The United States broke off ties with Iran after militants occupied the American Embassy in Tehran in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, told reporters there were "direct exchanges and meetings and discussions" between the U.S. and Iranian delegation.

He also said the participants at the meeting agreed to take part in future groups to study ways to bolster Iraq's security, assist displaced people and improve fuel distribution and sales in one of OPEC's former heavyweights.

Zebari did not say whether Iran and the United States could join in these smaller "tactical committees."

But Araghchi, the Iranian envoy, insisted that the working groups should include only Iraq's neighbors and could consult with "countries who are players in the region" _ an apparent reference to the United States.

Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, opened the meeting with an appeal for international help to sever networks aiding extremists and warned that Iraq's growing sectarian bloodshed could spill across the Middle East.

Khalilzad also urged nations bordering Iraq _ which include Syria and Iran _ to expand assistance to al-Maliki's government, saying "the future of Iraq and the Middle East is the defining issue of our time."

"(Iraq) needs support in this battle that not only threatens Iraq but will spill over to all countries in the region," al-Maliki said _ shortly before mortar shells landed near the conference site and a car bomb exploded in a Shiite stronghold across the city.

Al-Maliki urged for help in stopping financial support, weapon pipelines and "religious cover" for the relentless attacks of car bombings, killings and other attacks that have pitted Iraq's Sunnis against majority Shiites.

The delegates proposed an "expanded" follow-up meeting, which could include the G-8 nations and others, in Istanbul, Turkey, next month. Iraqi officials, however, say they want the next meeting to take place in Baghdad.

The meeting also gives a forum to air a wide range of views and concerns including U.S. accusations of weapons smuggling from Iran and Syria, and Arab demands for greater political power for Iraq's Sunnis.

Al-Maliki said "the terrorism that kills innocents" in Iraq comes from the same root as terrorists attacks around the world since Sept. 11, in a reference to groups inspired by al-Qaida.

He also delivered an apparent warning to Syria and Iran to stay away from using Iraq as a proxy battleground for fights against the United States.

"Iraq does not accept that its territories and cities become a field where regional and international disputes are settled," he said.

Khalilzad did not specifically mention Iran in statements to delegates, but he offered indirect messages that the United States acknowledges the country's growing influence in the region.

"The U.S. seeks an Iraq that is at peace with its neighbors; and neighbors that are at peace with Iraq," he said, according to a text distributed by the U.S. Embassy.

But he also reasserted U.S. claims that Syria allows foreign jihadists and Sunni insurgents to cross its border into Iraq, and that weapon shipments from Iran reach Shiite militias. Both nations deny the allegations.

Iran has strongly denounced the U.S. military presence even though it toppled their old foe Saddam Hussein. The complaints grew more pointed in December after American forces detained two Iranian security agents at the compound of a major Shiite political bloc in Baghdad

Six other Iranians were arrested Jan. 11 at an Iranian liaison office in northern Iraq. The U.S. military said they were members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard _ a charge Tehran rejects.

Khalilzad appeared to address Iran's complaints by saying U.S.-led troops do not "have anyone in detention who is a diplomat."

The Iranian envoy Araghchi complained the officials were "kidnapped" by U.S. forces and were members of the diplomatic staff.

The showdown over Iran's nuclear program also lurks behind any attempt to open a diplomatic dialogue. There have been other chances in the past for one-on-one dialogue between the United States and Iran, but rarely with such promise.

In September, the United States joined Iran and Syria in talks on Iraq _ although Washington ruled out direct talks with Iran in advance.

"All the delegates are united by one thing: the fear of a prolonged civil war in Iraq. It would hurt them each in different ways," said Abdel-Moneim Said, director of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. "Fear is the one thing bringing them all together."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6436561.stm

Last Updated: Saturday, 10 March 2007, 18:39 GMT

Iraq plea to help tackle violence

The violence continued as the delegates discussed security
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has appealed to its neighbours to help tackle the insurgency which has left tens of thousands dead since 2003.

He was addressing an international meeting in Baghdad which brought together envoys from the US, Iran and Syria for the first time in years.

The US blames both for stoking the violence, but the meeting was said to be constructive and positive.

As talks started, a car bomb in Sadr City was reported to have killed 18.

About 40 people were injured in the attack in the largely Shia neighbourhood of Baghdad. At about the same time, at least two mortar shells landed near the conference venue but injured no-one, a witness said.

What has obstructed the economic and political building process in Iraq and has threatened civil peace is the terrorism

The one-day conference on ways to restore stability in Iraq was also attended by envoys from other members of the UN Security Council, the Arab League, the Gulf Co-operation Council as well as other states bordering Iraq.

Observers say it was seen as an attempt to break the ice, and the beginning of a process.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the meeting had decided to set up several committees to discuss issues including security, refugees and energy supplies.

'Direct exchange'

The US has had no diplomatic relations with Iran for almost three decades, and its ties with Damascus have been severely strained.

The Americans are said to have shaken hands with the Iranian and Syrian envoys and US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said there had been "direct exchanges and meetings and discussions" between the US and Iranian delegation.

"The discussions with Iran and with others with regard to Iraq was instructive, businesslike, problem-solving in its orientation. I think I would leave it at that," Mr Khalilzad said.

He also appeared to address Iranian complaints that several Iranian diplomats were being held by US troops after being detained in Iraq in January.

He told the conference: "The coalition does not have anyone in detention who is a diplomat."

'In the front line'

Our correspondent says that for Iraq the meeting wa an important opportunity to bring together neighbours and other powers who have often seemed to be using the country as a proxy battlefield for their own struggles.

The conference venue is just outside the fortified Green Zone
In his opening address, Prime Minister Maliki called terrorism "an international epidemic" for which the people of Iraq were paying the price.

"Iraq is the first front line in facing this terrorism - which needs a lot of international co-operation to confront it - especially the neighbouring countries in particular to support us in this great war," he said.

Iran is a key supporter of the Shia majority in Iraq, while Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab states would like to see a better deal for Iraq's Sunni minority.

But our correspondent says Iran and Saudi Arabia have been working closely together recently to help defuse similar conflicts in Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority and there are hopes that this spirit will give impetus to the conference.

Ahead of the talks, US President George W Bush - on a Latin American tour - said the US message to Syria and Iran was unchanged.

"We expect you to help this young democracy and we will defend ourselves and the people in Iraq from weapons being shipped," he said.

The conference comes amid a new security drive by US and Iraqi forces.

Mr Bush has ordered in more than 20,000 additional troops to try to quell the unrest.

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