Tehran - Iran on Sunday termed the international conference
on Iraq's security held in Baghdad the previous day as 'serious and
constructive' and said it had prepared the ground for future talks at
minister level.
'The conference realised its main aim which was serious support
for the Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government, and prepared
grounds for future talks at (foreign) minister level,' Deputy Iranian
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told news network Khabar.
A second conference at foreign minister level is scheduled to be
held next month in Istanbul.
Araqchi, who represented Tehran at the conference, said that Iran
entered the conference 'with a spirit of understanding' and expressed
its concern over the situation in Iraq.
The deputy minister denied any direct talks in Baghdad with
representatives of Iran's political arch-foe the United States and
said the two sides only talked within the session, and only about
Iraq.
He added there had been 'heated' discussions with the US side
over the six Iranian diplomats detained by American forces in Iraq.
Tehran says the diplomatic immunity of the Iranian detainees should
be respected but the US accuses them of being agents, and not
diplomats.
Araqchi further said that for preventing the escalation violence
inside Iraq, the US-led coalition forces should outline a timetable
for withdrawal from Iraq and allow the local government to take care
of state affairs and security.
Araqchi voiced Iran's full support for the Iraqi government and
nation but said that without the withdrawal of coalition forces from
Iraq, the spiral of violence would continue.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
Your Talkback on this Story