Iran says will hold talks with US over Iraq

TEHRAN, May 13 (Reuters) Iran and the United States will hold talks next week aimed at establishing security in Iraq, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency today.

''With the aim of easing the pain of the Iraqi people, supporting the Iraqi government and strengthening security in Iraq ... Iran will talk with the American side in Baghdad,'' IRNA quoted Mohammad Ali Hosseini as saying.

Hosseini's office, contacted by Reuters, confirmed his comments.

The United States accuses Shi'ite Iran of supplying weapons and training to Shi'ite militias in Iraq. Tehran denies backing the insurgency in Iraq and accuses Washington of igniting tensions between Iraq's Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims.

But despite the exchange of accusations, analysts say both are concerned about worsening violence, pushing them to agree to meet.

US-Iranian talks are rare between two nations which have not had diplomatic ties for more than a quarter century, although both sides acknowledge meeting one-on-one in recent years for discussions specific to Afghanistan, another neighbour of Iran where the United States launched a war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice exchanged pleasantries at a lunch on the sidelines of a conference in Egypt on efforts to stabilise Iraq but did not hold any substantive discussions.

The high-level conference brought together Iraq's neighbours, including Iran and Syria, as well as officials from G8 nations and the European Union.

It was a follow-up to a meeting of senior officials in Baghdad in March, where Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki urged neighbours to do more to end bloodshed that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.

Hosseini said the location of the meeting had not been decided yet.

''The place of talks is definitely Iraq. The exact date and level of the negotiating team will become clear by Friday,'' Hosseini said.

Washington has been leading diplomatic efforts to isolate Iran over its nuclear ambitions. Iran has rejected repeated UN demands to halt uranium enrichment, which is used to make fuel for power stations but also has military applications.

Iran says it needs its atomic programme to satisfy its booming electricity demand.

Reuters DS GC1553