Iran says considering attending Iraq meeting - TV

TEHRAN, Feb 28 (Reuters) Iran, accused by Washington of backing militants in Iraq, is reviewing Baghdad's invitation to attend a regional conference on ways of easing tensions in Iran's neighbour, a senior official said today.

The United States has said it will attend both a mid-level meeting in March and a ministerial meeting that may be held in April. Syria, accused by Washington of igniting tension in Iraq by failing to control its border, has also been invited.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran was considering the offer.

Iranian officials had previously said Tehran was not interested in discussions before US troops pulled out of Iraq.

''In order to help resolve problems in Iraq, Iran will do its utmost. We will attend the meeting if (we reach the conclusion) that it is in Iraq's interests,'' Larijani was quoted by Iran's state television as saying.

As well as being at loggerheads over Iran's nuclear programme, Washington also accuses Iran of fuelling violence in Iraq. Tehran and Damascus dismiss the charges.

Iran blames the United States for destabilising Iraq and for stoking tension between Shi'ite Muslims, who form a majority in Iran and Iraq, and Sunnis.

Iran's most powerful figure, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ruled out direct talks with the United States, which broke ties with Tehran in 1980.

Ambassadors from Iraq's neighbours as well as the permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- are expected to attend the conference.

Larijani did not say whether Iranian and US officials will hold bilateral talks over Tehran's nuclear work on the sidelines of the conference. Direct talks between the United States and Iran are rare.

Washington played down yesterday the possibility of such talks before Iran halts uranium enrichment, as demanded by the Security Council, which passed a sanctions resolution on Iran in December for defying the demand.

Iran has so far rejected such a precondition, saying it needs atomic technology for power generation. The council is considering a second resolution on the Islamic state.

The United States, which suspects Iran is trying to make highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons, says it wants a diplomatic solution but has not ruled out military action.

REUTERS BDP BD1909