Iran's leaders on Thursday told visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that US troops must leave his country, in talks that reinforced growing bilateral ties and sparked unease in Washington.
Both the U.N. Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency have found Iran in breach of its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
US President George W. Bush sternly warned Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Thursday against cozying up to Iran, amid what Washington sees as unsettling signs of warming Baghdad-Tehran relations.
An end to violence in Iraq depends on the United States withdrawing its troops, Iran told Iraq's prime minister on Thursday, seeking to deflect accusations from Washington that it is responsible for bloodshed there.
President George W. Bush insisted on Thursday that Iran is a destabilizing force in Iraq despite Tehran's assertion to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that it is helping secure his country.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki won strong shows of friendship and support from his ally Iran, but there was no sign of concessions from Tehran on U.S. demands that it stop allegedly arming Shiite militants blamed for fueling Iraq's violence.
President Bush said today that he was confident that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq shared his view that Iran is a destabilizing force in the region.
Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Diplomatic talks with Iran are failing to stem the insurgency in neighboring Iraq, the U.S. State Department said, as the military revealed Iranian-linked bomb attacks on troops are increasing.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met the US Treasury's top anti-terrorism official Stuart Levey on Thursday for talks on economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, an Israeli spokesman said.
Iran on Thursday gave visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki its full support for restoring security in Iraq but told him a pullout of US forces was the only way to end the violence.