Iran said on Sunday that Tehran does not agree with connecting
Iran's nuclear program and the Iraqi issue, the official IRNA news
agency reported.
"We do not want any connection between the nuclear talks and the
discussions on Iraq," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Mohammad-Ali Hosseini was quoted as saying at his weekly press
conference.
"If others are intended to create a link between the two cases,
we reject it," he added.
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US and Iranian officials are to meet in Baghdad on May 28 for talks
on Iraq's security, just three days ahead of the next round of
negotiations between Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana over Tehran's nuclear
program.
Asked whether a representative from Syria would also attend the
US-Iran talks on Iraq slated for May 28, Hosseini said, "Syria
plays no role in the talks but an Iraqi representative will be
present at the meeting."
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday
stated that Tehran's policy of not negotiating with Washington was
unchanged though there will be talks with the United States over
Iraq.
The talks would not mean a breakthrough between the two foes as
Iran would merely use the talks with US diplomats to remind
Washington of its "occupiers' duty" in the conflict-torn Iraq,
state-run television quoted Khamenei as saying.
"The Iranian foreign ministry, at the request of Iraq, decided
to participate in face-to-face talks with the United States and
remind them of their duties and responsibilities over the security
of Iraq," said the Iranian leader.
(Xinhua News Agency May 21, 2007)
