Iran's envoy to the United Nations, Javad Zarif, will represent
his country in its talks with Washington over Iraq's security next
week, Iran's state-run Arabic television Alalam reported on
Tuesday.
Zarif will meet US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker in Baghdad on
May 28 to discuss the security situation in Iraq at the
ambassadorial level, Alalam reported on its website.
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But local Fars news agency on Tuesday quoted Iranian Foreign
Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini as saying that no one has
been assigned as head of Iran's negotiators in talks with the
United States.
"No specific person has yet been named as Iran's top negotiator
for the talks," Hosseini told Fars.
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.
Hosseini said on Monday that Iran will urge the United States to
withdraw from Iraq in the upcoming talks.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported
that it is possible that Iranian and US officials discuss issues
related to Iran during the talks.
"In fact, talking with the United States over issues related to
Iran is not an impossible matter," Mohammad-Javad Larijani,
secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of Iran's Judiciary was
quoted as saying on Monday, adding that "However, this depends on
the subject matters."
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted on March 24 a new
resolution with tougher sanctions to pressure Iran to suspend
uranium enrichment activities.
Iran has refused to heed the Security Council's demand,
insisting that its nuclear programs are for peaceful purposes
only.
The United States and some other Western countries have accused
Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of its
civilian nuclear programs.
(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2007)
