DUBAI: The United States and Iran held "direct discussions" at an international conference in Baghdad, aimed at arresting surging violence in Iraq, on Saturday.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told reporters at the end of the daylong conference that "direct exchanges and meetings and discussions" were held between the U.S. and Iranian delegations.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad confirmed that the Americans and the Iranians held face-to-face talks. "I did talk to them directly and in the presence of others. We engaged across the table as well," he said. David Satterfield, a senior adviser on Iraq to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, led the American delegation, while Iran was represented by its Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. All the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Iraq's neighbours, including Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, were among the 16 countries which participated in the meeting.

The U.S. has accused Iran of infiltrating agents who arm militants with smuggled weapons and explosives. Iraq's neighbours, Jordan and Syria, have serious concerns about the influx of nearly two million Iraqi refugees into their countries.

The representatives at the conference were slated to discuss the possibility of another international conference next month at the level of Foreign Ministers. Mr. Khalilzad said Ms. Rice would attend that conference, if it took place. The venue could be Istanbul or Baghdad.

Despite tight security, two mortar shells exploded close to the Foreign Ministry building, where the conference was held, causing minor damage. The delegates were then having lunch. A closed-door session was held in the afternoon, similar to the one in the morning.

In his opening remarks, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki exhorted the participants to prevent Iraq from becoming a battleground of a proxy war fought among rival nations.

There was an undercurrent of tensions ahead of the talks. Despite accepting the invitation to participate, the Iranians are offended by the recent abduction of their nationals in Iraq by U.S. forces. The Iranian delegation raised this issue at the conference.

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