Iran, US to Hold Talks over Iraq Next Week

A02556043.jpgTEHRAN (FNA) – Iran and the United States will hold a new round of talks over Iraq’s security in Baghdad next week, an Iraqi Foreign Ministry official said on Saturday.“We are working on a new round of talks between the two sides and we expect that the meeting would be held next week,” the official said on condition of anonymity, without providing a specific date, Xinhua reported.

He added that the level of the meeting has not yet been decided.

The comment from the US embassy was not immediately available.

The two sides held two ambassador-level talks on the Iraqi security issue in May and July and an expert-level meeting in August. A fourth round scheduled for December has been suspended.

Iran has a strong influence among the Iraqi Shiites. Relations of the two countries, which fought an eight-year war in 1980s,have picked up since the fall of Iraq’s former President Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Iraqi leaders have paid several visits to Iran since 2005. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Jan. 28 that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to make a tour to Iraq within two months.

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