Iran says foreign troops must leave Iraq

US troops must pull out from Iraq if security is to be restored, according to Iran’s supreme leader. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s declaration follows his talks in Tehran with the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani. Talabani is in Tehran to try to secure Iran’s help in curbing the escalating violence in Iraq.

Iran says that a secure, progressive and powerful Iraq is also in the interests of Iran and the whole region. The United States says it agrees, but it remains unclear how much it wants to involve Iran in stabilising Iraq. On his way to a Nato summit in Latvia, President Bush said in order for the US to open a dialogue with Iran, the Iranians would have to “verifiably suspend” its nuclear fuel enrichment programme, which could be used in weapons production.

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