DPA: Ahead of US-Iran meeting, Iranian FM criticizes US policy

Middle East News

By Pakinam Amer
May 19, 2007, 16:47 GMT

Dead Sea, Jordan - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki continued to criticize US foreign policy Saturday, ahead of planned US-Iran talks, maintaining that 'the policy of the US in Iraq was and is definitely wrong.'

Mottaki, who confirmed earlier that the meeting will focus exclusively on Iraq's security and would take place on May 28, said his country aims to 'sit with the American side in presence of the Iraqi representatives in Iraq and start a talk on Iraq to show and approve that the (US) polices were wrong.'

'We will explain to them where they went wrong and how they could correct these wrongs,' Mottaki said, describing the exchanged analysis of the realities of the situation as 'vital' to those looking for security in the region.

He added that his country could indeed see what he described as a 'willingness' by the Americans to talk to countries in the region, mainly Iran, about the Iraq crisis.

But he expressed doubt that this move was completely genuine. 'Maybe Mr (George W.) Bush is bringing this as a tactic to show that (he is) responding to the Baker-Hamilton report. But really the policies have failed in Iraq,' he said.

The US-Iran meeting is expected to take place at an ambassadorial level.

US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker had agreed earlier to meet with the Iranian representatives in Baghdad amid US accusations that Tehran has been fomenting violence in Iraq by providing material support to militant groups responsible for attacks on US soldiers.

Crocker intends to bring up allegations of Iranian support for bombing materials in Iraq and its backing of militias aggravating Shiite and Sunni tensions.

For his part, Mottaki reiterated Iran's rejection of what he described as a US occupation that has led to more instability and which breeds insurgency.

Despite the foreign minister's insistence that the US presence should end, he refused to set a hypothetical deadline for the withdrawal of US troops.

'Sooner or later the US will have to decide to withdraw their troops from Iraq, because it is the cause for the continuation of terrorist activity,' Mottaki told reporters during the Jordan-based World Economic Forum, which brings together over 700 politicians from around the world.

He said that he expected a withdrawal plan from the US, but did not say if it would be discussed at the May meeting.

The United States and Iran severed formal diplomatic relations in 1980, and discussions in Baghdad are believed to be the highest contact between the two governments in years.

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