Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

Special report:Iran Nuclear Crisis

Iranian president Mahmud Ahmadinejad (R) and Iraqi president Jalal Talabani (L) talk to media during an official meeting in Tehran, Nov. 27, 2006. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    TEHRAN, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A top Iranian official said on Wednesday that his country was considering an invitation from Baghdad to join an international conference of Iraqi neighbors, which Washington also intends to attend, the state television reported.

    "We are examining the proposal, and we will join the conference if it is expedient since we support solving problems of Iraq by all means," Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani was quoted as saying.

    According to the official, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had been contacted by his Iraqi counterpart on the conference issue.

    "Iraq's neighboring countries must help settle the problem because they are related to Iraq's security situation," Larijani said, while revealing Tehran's consideration of the Baghdad offer.

    He, however, failed to disclose what level delegate Iran would send if it decide to attend the meeting.

    Larijani also suggested it would be ok for Iran if the United States attend the conference by saying "one cannot commit suicide because one is afraid of death", meaning Tehran should not hurt itself just to avoid possible negative results over attendance of America.

    U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared Tuesday that the country would join the mid-March meeting organized by the Iraqi government, saying she supported Iraq's decision to invite Iran and Syria also.

    Washington's new position was considered by international media as a huge diplomatic turnabout since the Bush administration refused direct dialogue with Tehran over the Iraqi issue for several months.

    The United States has persistently accused Iran of supporting Iraqi insurgents to fight with coalition forces since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, but Tehran has denied it by saying such allegations were deliberate intervention to the Iran-Iraq ties by the U.S.

    Due to Iran's what Americans called "bad role" in the war-torn Iraq, a number of Iranians in Iraq have been arrested and the U.S. also increasingly started to build up its military power in the Gulf region.

Iraq to host ministerial conference in mid-March

Iraqi hospital morgue employees cover their faces as they wheel the victims of a bomb attack on a market in Baghdad. Bomb and mortar attacks have tormented war-weary Baghdad, killing 23 people, as Iraq set the date for a security conference that could see Washington sit down with archfoes Iran and Syria. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    BAGHDAD, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi government announced Wednesday that it will host neighboring countries and other world powers for a mid-March meeting meant to enlist support for Iraqi government efforts at stabilizing the country.

    The meeting will be held on the tenth of March and will include officials of neighboring countries, the UN Security Council, the United Nations, the Arab League and the organization of the Islamic Conference, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office said in a statement.

    Earlier in the month, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said he expected the gathering would mark an important turning point in these countries' vision of the situation in Iraq.

    However, the call of the meeting comes as violence rages in Iraq despite the government's measures to crack down on illegal militia and the U.S. decision to send 21,000 more soldiers to the war-torn country.

Five people killed, 22 injured in attacks in Baghdad

An Iraqi woman carrying her shopping bag walks amid the rubble of a bombed market in Baghdad. Bomb and mortar attacks have tormented war-weary Baghdad, killing 23 people, as Iraq set the date for a security conference that could see Washington sit down with archfoes Iran and Syria. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    BAGHDAD, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A roadside bomb and a mortar barrage killed five people and wounding 22 others in Baghdad on Wednesday, a well-informed police source said.

    Five mortar rounds landed at a crowded market in the Shurta al-Rabia neighborhood in southwestern the capital on Wednesday afternoon, killing four people and wounding 20 others," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    In separate incident, a roadside bomb detonated on the mainroad at the al-Rasheed town, killing a civilian and wounding two others, the source added.

    A wave of bomb attacks claimed the lives of dozens of Iraqis in the past few days despite the presence of some 85,000 U.S. and Iraqi security forces across the capital in a major offensive aimed at curbing insurgency and sectarian violence in the war-torn country.

An Iraqi woman carrying her shopping bag walks amid the rubble of a bombed market. Bomb and mortar attacks have tormented war-weary Baghdad, killing 23 people, as Iraq set the date for a security conference that could see Washington sit down with archfoes Iran and Syria.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)Photo Gallery >>>

Iraq VP survives bomb in Baghdad

    BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- An explosion struck an Iraqi ministry in Baghdad on Monday, killing four people, but Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi who inside it escaped unhurt, Qatar-based al-Jazeera television reported.

    The blast took place during the Shiite vice president's visit to the building of the ministry, the channel said without elaboration. Full Story

Iraqi president urges all to stop interference in Iraq's affairs

    KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has called on all to stop meddling in his country's internal affairs and help the country restore peace and stability, Kuwait'sofficial KUNA news agency reported on Saturday.

    "I know who does intervene in Iraqi internal affairs and who does not, but it is not in Iraq's interests at present to name the interveners lest I should pour oil on fire," the president said in an interview to be carried by the local daily al-Anbaa on Sunday.

    In the interview during his visit to Damascus, Syria, he voiced hope to Kuwaiti media that the new Iraq would play "a positive role in cementing Arab solidarity and genuine regional cooperation based on respect for sovereignty and independence of all neighbors." Full Story