|
Iraq president meets with Khamenei in
Tehran
28.11.2006
|
|
|
|
Tehran, November
28, -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani meets with
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in
Tehran on the second day of a key visit for Iraq's
future.
Mr Talabani is hoping to secure Iranian help to
improve the security situation in Iraq, which is
teetering on civil war according to UN chief Kofi
Annan.
On Monday, Mr Talabani held talks with President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said Iran was ready to do
whatever it could.
The US has repeatedly accused Iran of impeding
efforts to stabilise Iraq.
But Mr Ahmadinejad said a secure, progressive and
powerful Iraq was in the interests of Iran and the
whole region.
Mr Talabani, a Farsi speaker, is the first Iraqi
head of state to visit Tehran in almost four
decades. |
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
right, meets with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani
during an official meeting in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday,
November. 28, 2006
Photo:AP |
Iran tells Talabani that
US-led forces must leave Iraq
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei told visiting
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani that US-led forces
had to leave Iraq if security was to be restored in
the violence-riven country.
"The first step to solve the security issue in Iraq
is the exit of the occupiers from this country and
leaving the security issues to the people-based
Iraqi government," Khamenei was quoted as saying by
state television.
"Americans will absolutely not succeed in Iraq and
the continuation of Iraq's occupation is not a
mouthful that Americans can swallow," Khamenei said
Tuesday during a meeting with Iraqi President Jalal
Talabani.
"The main reason for the current situation in Iraq
is the US policies that are being carried out by
some intermediaries," the Iranian leader said.
He put the blame for Iraq's insecurity on "some US
agents in the region who are mediators of these
policies".
"Reinforcing terrorist groups and inflaming the wave
of insecurity and killings in Iraq will be very
dangerous for the US agents and the region,"
Khamenei said.
He also pledged that the Islamic republic would come
to Iraq's assistance if requested.
"If the Iraqi government asks, Iran will not refrain
from any action to establish stability and security
in this country."
"Americans will absolutely not succeed in Iraq and
the continuation of Iraq's occupation is not a
mouthful that Americans can swallow," Khamenei told
him.
Talabani, paying a three-day official visit to the
Shiite-dominated neighbouring country, has
acknowledged he came to seek Tehran's help in
curbing bloodshed which is increasingly being
perceived as civil war.
During his trip to Tehran, Talabani also received
fresh vows of assistance from his counterpart
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to stem the violence in war-torn
Iraq.
Washington and London, whose forces are battling
insurgents in Iraq, accuse Tehran of fomenting the
sectarian conflict.
Iran has strongly denied meddling in Iraq, insisting
repeatedly that the Iraqi conflict will be resolved
if the occupation forces pull out of Iraq.
At a meeting with Talabani on Monday, Ahmadinejad
promised to do all his country could. "We will help
our Iraqi brothers with all that we can to implement
and reinforce security in Iraq," the Iranian
president said.
Talabani told reporters as he arrived in Tehran: "We
need Iran's comprehensive help to fight terrorism,
restore security and stabilize Iraq."
The Iraqi president, whose Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan has in the past been backed by Iran, made
a landmark visit to Tehran in November 2005. He said
at the time he had won Iran's promise of support for
his government's battle with insurgents.
His latest plea for help came as a fresh outbreak of
violence left dozens dead across Iraq. The bodies of
at least 40 people bearing torture marks were
recovered after being dumped in various parts of the
capital.
The Iran visit coincides with a flurry of diplomatic
activity to try to resolve the worsening situation
in Iraq, with US President George W. Bush and Iraqi
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki set to meet Wednesday
in the Jordanian capital Amman.
Washington's staunch ally Britain on Monday
condemned what it called Iran's behaviour in
inciting violence in Iraq.
British Defence Secretary Des Browne warned the
Islamic republic against seeing Iraq as a "tool in a
wider confrontation" -- a reference to US-led
efforts to force Tehran to curb its nuclear plans
which the West suspects hide ambitions for nuclear
weapons.
Tehran insists its atomic plans are only for
civilian use.
BBC | AFP | Agencies
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 