¡¡¡¡TEHRAN, January 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran and Iraq, two regional rival foes, have intensified diplomatic drives to normalize relations, as Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri Ahmed toured the bickering neighbor amid hopes to forge healthier ties at a time when Iraq faces potential U.S. attack for allegedly supporting terrorism.

¡¡¡¡Ahmed, whose four-day visit was at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharazi, expressed hope to "solve the last outstanding issues from the (Iran-Iraq) war with the Iranian authorities" when touching down in Tehran.

¡¡¡¡The top Iraqi diplomat said after meeting Kharazi that "Baghdad is keen on increasing exchanges between the two countries," adding that his country would "do everything possible" to do away with the bitter memories of the past.

¡¡¡¡While receiving Ahmed, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on Sunday called on both sides to look to the future and forget the bitter past as far as their religious, historical and cultural bonds are concerned, State Radio reported.

¡¡¡¡Ahmed's visit, the latest in a series of efforts made by both countries to mend their fences, is expected to lead to normalization of bilateral ties.

¡¡¡¡An Iranian delegation headed by Amir Hussein Zamani, a consultant for Kharazi, was in Baghdad earlier this month for talkswith Iraqi officials on ways to boost bilateral ties and settle theoutstanding "humanitarian" issues.

¡¡¡¡Zamani was commissioned to finalized the talks on the fate of the remaining Iranian POWs (prisons of war) and MIAs (missing in action) of the Iran-Iraq War.

¡¡¡¡Iran and Iraq waged a war from 1980 to 1988 that left hundreds of thousands dead on each side.

¡¡¡¡For more than 13 years following their ceasefire, the two neighbors have yet to sign a peace treaty and the thorny issues such as the POWs and the support for each other's opposition groups have seriously marred the normalization of the bilateral ties.

¡¡¡¡Iran says more than 3,000 of its forces are still held in Iraqi prisons and refutes Baghdad's claims that it holds nearly 29,000 Iraqi soldiers.

¡¡¡¡In Tehran, animosity lingers over Baghdad's sheltering and supporting for the Iraq-based Iranian armed opposition Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO), which has often engaged in attacks against Iran.

¡¡¡¡As a concrete step for a diplomatic thaw, Iran has released 682 Iraqi prisoner of war over the past few days in accordance with recent negotiations by the two countries to resume the exchange of POWs. In exchange, Iraq freed 50 Iranian prisoners held in Iraq forborder violations or illegal residence.

¡¡¡¡In another positive move, Iranian planes are allowed to use Iraq airspace for direct flights to Syria following agreement reached here by visiting Iraqi Transport Minister Ahmad Murtada Ahmad and his Iranian counterpart Ahmad Khoram.

¡¡¡¡Flights between Tehran and Damascus have detoured over Turkey toavoid the two no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq which were imposed by the Western allies after the 1991 Gulf War and patrolled by U.S. and British warplanes.

¡¡¡¡Earlier, Ahmed had noted that remaining disputes between Iran and Iraq will be hazardous for both countries, as "the current conditions of the region are highly critical and this calls for Iran's and Iraq's joint efforts to solve all remaining problems."

¡¡¡¡While Tehran received Ahmed with open arms, the motive and timing of his visit did not go unquestioned by Iran's critical media.

¡¡¡¡As the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan comes to an end and Iraq becomes a potential target of the U.S. military campaign, its war-time olive branch is seen to reflect Baghdad's concern over being further isolated.

¡¡¡¡The English-language daily Iran News has said in a recent editorial that the current diplomatic drives are not the first time Iraq has tried rapprochement, as many Iraqi official delegations visited Tehran and urged reconciliation between the bitter rivals in the months leading up to the Gulf War in 1991.

¡¡¡¡The paper pointed out that at this crucial juncture, "Iraq needs as many friends in the region as it can get."

¡¡¡¡Tehran Times has also questioned Iraq's sincerity over developing ties with Iran by pointing out that whenever Iraq has come under pressure or felt threatened by outside powers, it has changed its attitude towards its neighboring countries, calling for brotherly relations with its neighbors.

¡¡¡¡But the two countries have found common ground in cooperation by sharing a sworn enemy, the United States, who has failed to see eye to eye on regional and global issues with the two headstrong regional powers who dare to challenge it from time to time.

¡¡¡¡At this critical stage, Iran and Iraq have expressed readiness to close the file of all outstanding issues and put aside their disputes for mutual security and interests, at least for the time being. Enditem

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