Iran vows to back Iraq PM's security drive
Friday, 10 August 2007
TEHRAN, Aug 9 (AFP): Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Thursday won pledges from Iranian leaders to support his drive to restore security to Iraq, amid US accusations that Iran is behind deadly attacks in the country.
The embattled Maliki met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, national security chief Ali Larijani and other top officials on the first day of a two-day trip aimed at expanding already burgeoning ties.
"Iran and Iraq both have heavy responsibilities to bring about peace and security in the region," Ahmadinejad told Maliki after their meeting late Wednesday, state media reported.
"The situation in the region today, including Iraq, is very sensitive. Tehran considers the future of the region to be dependent on the victory in Iraq," he added.
The website of Iranian state broadcasting said that at the meeting with Larijani, the Iranian side "expressed our country's willingness to help Iraq solve its security problem."
Maliki's talks appeared to confirm the increasingly warm relations that have emerged between majority Shiite Iraq and overwhelmingly Shiite Iran following the fall of the Sunni-dominated regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003. According to the state-run IRNA news agency, Maliki thanked Iran for its "positive and constructive" work in "providing security and fighting terrorism in Iraq."
The United States, however, accuses Tehran of stoking much of the violence that has bedevilled Iraq following the toppling of Saddam.
Washington claims Tehran backs Shiite militias and supplies weapons capable of penetrating the armour of US military vehicles. The charges are vehemently denied by Iran.
In a highly symbolic move, Maliki met the families of seven Iranian officials arrested in Iraq by US forces on accusations of being members of an elite Revolutionary Guards force on a mission to stir trouble.
"The Iraqi government will do all it can to release these people," Maliki said, expressing optimism that the officials would be released, state broadcasting said.
In the run-up to the trip, Maliki had reaffirmed his unequivocal support for the sometimes stormy talks between the ambassadors of United States and Iran in Baghdad aimed at restoring security to Iraq.
"I sense that in this negotiation, there is a seriousness and inclination from both sides to help Iraq get out of the crisis," Maliki said in an interview with Iran's Arabic language channel Al-Alam broadcast Tuesday.
The embattled Maliki met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, national security chief Ali Larijani and other top officials on the first day of a two-day trip aimed at expanding already burgeoning ties.
"Iran and Iraq both have heavy responsibilities to bring about peace and security in the region," Ahmadinejad told Maliki after their meeting late Wednesday, state media reported.
"The situation in the region today, including Iraq, is very sensitive. Tehran considers the future of the region to be dependent on the victory in Iraq," he added.
The website of Iranian state broadcasting said that at the meeting with Larijani, the Iranian side "expressed our country's willingness to help Iraq solve its security problem."
Maliki's talks appeared to confirm the increasingly warm relations that have emerged between majority Shiite Iraq and overwhelmingly Shiite Iran following the fall of the Sunni-dominated regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003. According to the state-run IRNA news agency, Maliki thanked Iran for its "positive and constructive" work in "providing security and fighting terrorism in Iraq."
The United States, however, accuses Tehran of stoking much of the violence that has bedevilled Iraq following the toppling of Saddam.
Washington claims Tehran backs Shiite militias and supplies weapons capable of penetrating the armour of US military vehicles. The charges are vehemently denied by Iran.
In a highly symbolic move, Maliki met the families of seven Iranian officials arrested in Iraq by US forces on accusations of being members of an elite Revolutionary Guards force on a mission to stir trouble.
"The Iraqi government will do all it can to release these people," Maliki said, expressing optimism that the officials would be released, state broadcasting said.
In the run-up to the trip, Maliki had reaffirmed his unequivocal support for the sometimes stormy talks between the ambassadors of United States and Iran in Baghdad aimed at restoring security to Iraq.
"I sense that in this negotiation, there is a seriousness and inclination from both sides to help Iraq get out of the crisis," Maliki said in an interview with Iran's Arabic language channel Al-Alam broadcast Tuesday.