U.S. presence is Iraq's main problem - Iranian leader

Monday June 9, 2008
U.S. presence is Iraq's main problem - Iranian leader
By Fredrik Dahl and Hashem Kalantari
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader told visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday that the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq was the biggest obstacle to its development as a united country.


Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) speaks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during a meeting in Tehran June 9, 2008. (REUTERS/FARS NEWS)
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hit out at the "occupiers" in Iraq at a time when Baghdad is negotiating with the United States on a new agreement aimed at giving a legal basis for U.S. troops to stay in Iraq after Dec. 31, when their U.N. mandate expires.

Iran and the United States blame each other for violence in Iraq and are also sharply at odds over Tehran's nuclear programme, which Washington suspects is aimed at making bombs. Iran says it is a peaceful drive to produce electricity.

"The presence of occupiers in Iraq, particularly the U.S. armed forces ... is the main obstacle to unity in Iraq," state radio quoted Khamenei, Shi'ite Iran's top authority, as saying.

He accused them of using their military and security powers to interfere in Iraq's internal affairs but that the "Americans' dreams" in the Middle East country would not be realised.

The talks on a "status of forces" deal are the subject of heated debate both in United States and Iraq, where thousands have answered the anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's call for weekly protests after Friday Muslim prayers.

U.S. officials have accused Iran of seeking to derail the negotiations by "inspiring" media reports that the United States is trying to force Iraq to accept a deal on permanent bases.

In Washingon, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said when asked if he thought Iraq could resist Iranian pressure not to make such a deal with the United States: "Iraq is a sovereign state that is going to act in its national interest."

DEFENCE AND OIL COOPERATION

Iran and Iraq fought an eight-year war in the 1980s but ties have improved since U.S.-led forces ousted the Sunni Arab strongman Saddam Hussein five years ago and a Shi'ite Muslim-dominated government came to power in Baghdad.

The Iranian and Iraqi defence ministers signed a memorandum of understanding during Maliki's visit to boost defence cooperation "with the aim of strengthening peace and stability in the region," Iran's official IRNA news agency said.

Mine clearance and search for soldiers missing in action during their 1980-88 war would form part of the cooperation.

The two members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) also agreed to increase oil sector cooperation, a senior Iranian official said.

Maliki's government treads a fine line in its relations with the Islamic Republic, seeking support while mindful of U.S. accusations that Iran supports Shi'ite militias in Iraq.

Iran denies this and blames the presence of U.S. troops, currently numbering about 150,000, for the bloodshed that has followed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Iraq's government spokesman said before Maliki's three-day visit started on Saturday that the issue of Iranian interference would be raised, but it was not clear whether it had been discussed in his meetings so far in Tehran.

Analysts say Iran does not want Iraq to descend into chaos but nor does it want U.S. forces to have an easy ride, which might give Washington ideas about military options against Iran.

(Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Tehran and by Washington bureau)

Copyright © 2008 Reuters

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Monday June 9, 2008
Rice to hold talks with Israeli, Palestinian teams
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to hold a three-way meeting next week with the chief Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, a senior Palestinian official said on Monday.

Marred by disputes over Jewish settlement expansion and violence in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, U.S.-backed peace talks have shown little sign of progress since they were launched at a conference in Annapolis, Maryland in November.


U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice delivers remarks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington in this June 3, 2008 file photo. (REUTERS/Yuri Gripas)
A corruption investigation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could trigger new elections, dimming the chances of a deal this year, Israeli, Palestinian and Western officials say.

Palestinian officials said the three-way meeting between Rice and the chief negotiators -- Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie -- would take place on June 15 in Jerusalem, and not June 16 as previously stated.

"It is to review the negotiations in all its aspects," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Rice, who will visit Israel and the occupied West Bank, convened a similar three-way meeting earlier this year.

Qurie said on Saturday that the Palestinians were still conducting talks with their Israeli counterparts despite "wide gaps" in positions. The two sides agreed in their last meeting to begin drafting a position paper in an attempt to narrow those gaps, he said.

Copyright © 2008 Reuters