Tehran Issues Mixed Message Over Talks With US on Iraq

Roula Khalaf and Gareth Smyth, The Financial Times:

Iranian officials have given a mixed response to Washington's recent decision to authorise Zalmay Khalilzad, its envoy in Baghdad, to speak to the Iranian ambassador in Baghdad.

Hamid-Reza Asefi, the foreign ministry spokesman, said yesterday Tehran saw "no need" to discuss Iraq with the US, and Ali Larijani, the top security official, on Saturday dismissed the idea as "propaganda".

But Mohammad-Reza Bagheri, deputy foreign minister, said that while "the general instructions are not to talk to Americans", Tehran could consider the US initiative.

"We'll think about it," he said, after giving a speech to the Gulf Dialogue, a conference in Bahrain organised by London's International Institute for Strategic Studies.

In his address to an audience including US civilian and military officials, Mr Bagheri said Iran had been bitterly disappointed by its inclusion in President George W. Bush's "axis of evil" despite its active co-operation with Washington in Afghanistan over the toppling of the Taliban regime.

He said Tehran was nonetheless willing to help stabilise Iraq - without specifying how - and that it expected a "sincere" reaction to its role.

After issuing a general call for the removal of foreign troops from the Gulf, where the US has military bases, Mr Bagheri referred to the American military presence in Iraq, saying Iran backed a "gradual" pull-out.

Since the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq and the rise of Shia parties friendly with Tehran, Iran has become an influential neighbour to Iraq, raising concerns in Washington and London, as well in the Sunni Arab Gulf.

The US and Britain have alleged Tehran has given backing to insurgents in Iraq, especially in the mainly Shia south.

According to people close to the US administration, Mr Khalilzad's overtures would be intended to avoid misunderstandings about US intentions and to convince Tehran to play "a more positive role".

The talks, they say, are similar to the discussions Mr Khalilzad had with the Iranian embassy in Kabul, during his previous post, and they would not constitute a "political dialogue."

A senior official in Tehran considered a regime insider said he believed Iran had already offered intelligence co-operation in regard to Iraq in return for Washington easing the pressure over Iran's nuclear programme, most clearly in not pressing last month's meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer Tehran to the UN Security Council.

"This has been going on for a couple of months," he said. "There seems to be co-ordination against al-Qaeda, and you will notice that attacks against the British in southern Iraq [attributed to Shia militants] have reduced. In return, US agitation over the nuclear issue has diminished." READ MORE

The official said there was co-operation despite the belligerent rhetoric of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran's fundamentalist president, who he said had "very little role" in security policy.

"Many Iraqi officials have come to Tehran lately, including Ahmad Chalabi [Iraq's deputy prime minister] who went straight to Washington afterwards," he added.

The Baghdad government has recently signed various trade deals with Tehran as well as a memorandum of understanding about fighting terrorism. That may pave the way for direct talks.

In his conference speech in Bahrain, Mr Bagheri sought also to allay the fears of Iraq's Gulf Arab neighbours about Iran's alleged interference in Iraq and its insistence on pursuing a complete nuclear fuel cycle, which they suspect is intended for atomic weapons.

Insisting Iran's intentions are peaceful, Mr Bagheri told Gulf countries they could participate in Iran's nuclear production, building on September's proposal made by Mr Ahmadi-Nejad for partnerships with other countries.