Iran Conference Urges Cooperation To Fight Iraq Terror

Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki (file photo) (epa) July 9, 2006 -- Participants in a regional conference in Tehran on security in Iraq have "unanimously and clearly" called for cooperation to combat terrorism in Iraq, Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said at the end of the two-day meeting.

Mottaki also said the interior ministries of Iraq and its neighbors had agreed to cooperate closely to secure their borders.


Iran called for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq, but other neighboring states reportedly rejected the proposal.


The conference was attended by officials from Iraq and the country's neighbors, as well as officials from Egypt, Bahrain, the Arab League, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.


On July 8 Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and the foreign ministers of Arab nations at the gathering condemned Israel for its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.


(dpa)

Iraq And Iran

Iraq And Iran

Iranian Shi'a protesting the Golden Mosque Bombing in Iraq on February 24

WHAT IS GOING ON? On March 8, RFE/RL's Washington office hosted a roundtable discussion on relations between Iraq and Iran. Although most analysts agree that Iran has been actively involved in Iraq since the U.S.-led military operation to oust former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, they continue to debate the nature, extent, and intent of that involvement.
The RFE/RL briefing featured WAYNE WHITE, former deputy director of the U.S. State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research's Office of Analysis for the Near East and South Asia, and A. WILLIAM SAMII, RFE/RL's regional analyst for Iran and editor of the "RFE/RL Iran Report."


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