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Ready for high-level talks with US over Iraq, says Iran

TEHRAN, July 26 (Xinhua): Iranian Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, said on Wednesday that his country was ready to consider further talks with the United States over Iraq's security at a higher level, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"Talks with the United States regarding Iraq's security at the level of Deputy Foreign Minister can be examined," Mottaki was quoted as saying to reporters after a cabinet meeting.

"The issue can be considered if a formal request is received from the US side," he added.

The minister made the remarks just a day after the US and Iranian Ambassadors to Iraq met in Baghdad and decided to set up a Joint Committee to "coordinate and lobby on the establishment of stability and security" there.

During the meeting, the US Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, accused Iran of stepping up its support for Iraqi militia after the first round of US-Iran talks in May.

"Over the roughly two months, we have actually seen militia-related activities that can be attributed to Iranian support go up and not down," Crocker said after his second meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, in the heavily fortified Green Zone.

For his part, Qomi countered that his country was helping Iraq deal with the security situation, but Iraqis were "victimized by terror and the presence of foreign troops" on their territory.

Several senior Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, attended the meeting.

The two ambassadors made their first round of talks on May 28 in Baghdad in an effort to find solutions for Iraqi security problems. However, their first meeting ended without substantial achievement.

US forces accuse Iran of arming and training Iraqi militia to fight against US troops, allegations that Iranian officials have denied. Iranian authorities call for an immediate withdrawal of US troops to stabilize Iraq.