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Iran to host Iraq security talks Iran to host Iraq security talks
(about 4 hours later)
Iraq's President Jalal Talabani has accepted an invitation from his Iranian counterpart to discuss ways of tackling the raging violence in Iraq. Iraq's President Jalal Talabani has accepted an invitation from his Iranian counterpart to discuss ways of tackling the violence in Iraq.
Mr Talabani will meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran on Saturday. Unconfirmed reports say Syria's President Bashar al-Assad may attend. Mr Talabani's office said he would meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran on Saturday. Some reports say Syria's President Bashar al-Assad may attend.
The US has given a guarded welcome to the prospect of the talks in Tehran.The US has given a guarded welcome to the prospect of the talks in Tehran.
But the state department said previous Iranian commitments to help reduce violence in Iraq had not been acted on. The Iraqi government has said Syria and Iraq are planning to restore full diplomatic ties, cut in 1982.
Analysts say Iran's diplomatic push could be designed to upstage US efforts to force it and Syria to do more to help stabilise the situation in Iraq. Monday's announcement of restored ties capped off a day of regional diplomatic initiatives involving Iraq.
The announcement of talks comes during a landmark visit to Iraq by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallim - the highest-ranking Syrian official to visit Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. First, Syria's foreign minister promised his country's support in helping Iraq restore security.
Partners href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/6083200.stm" class="">Quick guide: Violence in Iraq href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/6144842.stm" class="">What Iran and Syria want
Walid Muallim is the highest-ranking Syrian official to visit Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said: "The first step is restoring diplomatic relations before the delegation leaves, God willing."
Then, shortly after Mr Muallim and Mr Maliki met in Baghdad, the news came out that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani had been invited to Tehran for talks with his Iranian counterpart.
Shia legislators in Iraq said Syria's President Bashar al-Assad had been invited to the talks, but a spokesman for Mr Talabani dismissed the claims.
"This is a two-way bilateral summit, said Kameran Qaradaghi. "There was no invitation for a three-way summit."
Guarded response
BBC Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi says Iran's diplomatic initiative appears to designed to pre-empt US efforts to force it and Syria to do more to help stabilise the situation in Iraq.
He says that if Damascus and Tehran are to agree to help Washington stabilise Iraq, they are likely to demand a price.
Syria's foreign minister (l) pledged support to restore Iraqi security
The Iraqi president's trip to Tehran will follow one by his Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, in September when he won a promise of support for his government in battling insurgents.
Washington gave a guarded response to the news of Mr Talabani's trip.
State department spokesman Tom Casey said Tehran had already indicated that it wanted to help reduce the violence in Iraq, but had not backed up the words with actions.
"The problem is not what they say," he told reporters. "The problem is what they do."
The US has long accused Iran of providing bomb-making materials to Shia militia.
Prime Minister Nouri Maliki told Mr Muallim he was not prepared to let Iraq get caught up in Syria's differences with the US.Prime Minister Nouri Maliki told Mr Muallim he was not prepared to let Iraq get caught up in Syria's differences with the US.
"[Syria] should settle these differences, but not at our cost," Mr Maliki said at a joint news conference. "[Syria] should settle these differences, but not at our cost," Mr Maliki said at a joint news conference with the Syrian foreign minister.
Spiralling violence
Mr Muallim said Syria wanted to be a partner with Iraq to increase security and political co-operation.Mr Muallim said Syria wanted to be a partner with Iraq to increase security and political co-operation.
The US regularly accuses Syria of not doing enough to prevent anti-US insurgents from crossing its border with Iraq to smuggle arms and fighters. Syria has called for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troopsOn Sunday, Mr Muallim called for the unity of Iraq to be preserved, and for a timetable for foreign troops to leave.
On Sunday, Mr Muallim called for the unity of Iraq to be preserved, and for a timetable for foreign troops to leave. The US regularly accuses Syria of not doing enough to prevent insurgents from crossing its border with Iraq to smuggle arms and fighters.
Officials attacked On Monday, a US military spokesman in Baghdad said between 70 and 100 foreign fighters were entering Iraq from Syria each month.
Monday saw gunmen attacked the convoy of an Iraqi Deputy Health Minister, Hakim Zamili, a day after an ambush in which another deputy health minister was kidnapped. In the last two days, two deputy health ministers have been attacked by gunmen. One of them was kidnapped.
"We as health ministry officials have become a target," said Mr Zamili. Two of his bodyguards were killed in the attack, in Baghdad's central al-Fadil district. Escalating sectarian violence in recent months has increased pressure on the government to stabilise the country.
Reports said more than 100 people had been killed in Iraq the last 24 hours, piling pressure on the government to solve the spiral of sectarian violence.
On Sunday, Ammar al-Saffar, who holds the same rank as Mr Zamili, was kidnapped on Sunday from his home in Baghdad's Sunni district of Adhamiya.
The health ministry is headed by a group loyal to the Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia is accused of involvement in sectarian attacks by Iraq's Sunni Muslim community.
Meanwhile, the American military says two members of its forces have been killed - one in Anbar province, in western Iraq, and one in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad.Meanwhile, the American military says two members of its forces have been killed - one in Anbar province, in western Iraq, and one in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad.