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U.S. must leave Iraq: Iran

Atul Aneja

Rice, Mottaki fail to hold talks

DUBAI: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and his American counterpart Condoleezza Rice have not held talks on the sidelines of an international conference on Iraq at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The two had briefly greeted each other at a luncheon on Thursday, but refrained from talks. Mr. Mottaki skipped an official dinner on Thursday night after a seating plan showed that he would be sitting opposite Ms. Rice. However, a meeting at the level of Ambassadors of the two countries was held. Mr. Mottaki held talks with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki- Moon and British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett.

The meeting with Ms. Beckett has followed the release of the 15 British sailors that Iran had detained on the grounds that they had intruded Iranian territorial waters. On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini had said, "What the U.S. should bear in mind is that for holding negotiations a certain level of directed preparation, opportunity and planning is required."

Analysts point out that the continued detention of the five Iranians by the Americans is one of the key factors driving Tehran's disinclination towards a high-profile interaction. At a press conference on Friday, Mr. Mottaki called for the immediate release of Iranians whom the Americans had seized in January from an Iranian diplomatic facility in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil.

Iran is also insisting that the U.S. should declare a timeline for the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq. Mr. Mottaki said the presence of U.S. troops was responsible for the growing extremist violence in Iraq. "The continuation of, and increase in, terrorist acts in Iraq originates from the flawed approaches adopted by the foreign troops. Thus, in our view, the continuation of occupation lies at the origin of the crisis," he said. Countering American accusations that Iranian support to militants is encouraging violence, Mr. Mottaki said the U.S. should "not finger point or put the blame on others."

The Iranians, who exercise substantial influence over Iraq's Shia-led Government, have stepped up their interaction with Iraqi leaders. At the conference, Mr. Mottaki met Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki.

Stability

While the meeting in Egypt was in progress, Mr. Larijani hosted the former Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari in Tehran. Mr. Jaafari declared in the Iranian capital that Iraq was pursuing a policy that promoted "independence and stability." Observers point out that the Iranians have been reasserting themselves after the nuclear talks between the Mr. Larijani and the European foreign policy head, Javier Sloana reopened last month.

On Friday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated that Tehran would not backtrack from its nuclear stance. His remarks came ahead of the meeting in London among the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany on the Iranian nuclear issue.

Mr. Mottaki met Switzerland's Presidential envoy and welcomed Berne's proposal for the continuation of talks and consultations about Iran's nuclear issue.

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