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Iran offer on Iraq talks called a ploy
By wire services
Published March 18, 2006
WASHINGTON - President Bush's top foreign policy adviser said Friday that Iran's new willingness to talk about Iraq with the United States is probably a ploy designed to "divert pressure and divert attention" from international concern that Tehran wants a nuclear bomb.
The United States has accused Iran of using a civilian nuclear program as a cover to build atomic weapons, an allegation Tehran denies. The U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss Iran's nuclear program this month, with Washington pressing for penalties.
The Bush administration views Tehran's acceptance of an American offer to talk about Iraq, made months ago, as an indication that Iran is feeling the international heat, national security adviser Steven J. Hadley said.
The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, said Thursday that Iran would discuss Iraq directly with the United States. Washington has accused Tehran of meddling in Iraqi politics and of supporting armed militias in Iraq by sending men and weapons, including components for increasingly lethal roadside bombs.
The American ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, in charge of discussions on the talks, said Friday that any meeting should be held in Baghdad. He also made clear that discussions would be limited to issues related to Iraq.
In Iraq, the main Sunni Arab political bloc, the Iraqi Consensus Front, denounced the proposed talks and asserted that it was not obligated to comply with any results of the negotiations.
The Sunni leadership has long criticized Tehran's influence over Iraq's Shiite religious parties, and its opposition to the talks could add another obstacle to efforts to forge a coalition government.
Bombs, bullets target pilgrims near Karbala
BAGHDAD - The Muslim pilgrims' road to Karbala was a highway of bullets and bombs for Shiites on Friday. Drive-by shootings and roadside and bus bombs killed or wounded 19 people, ratcheting up sectarian tensions gripping Iraq.
North of Baghdad, in the Sunni Triangle, a 2-day-old operation involving about 1,500 U.S. and Iraqi troops swept through an area near Samarra in search of insurgents. Operation Swarmer's only casualty so far occurred Thursday, when a 101st Airborne soldier was shot in Samarra.
Authorities had feared new attacks as tens of thousands of Shiites converge on Karbala for Monday's 40th and final day of mourning for Imam Hussein, the prophet Mohammed's grandson.
Information from the Associated Press and New York Times was used in this report.
[Last modified March 18, 2006, 02:30:29]
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