TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran on Sunday said it was still considering whether to take part in a conference next month on Iraq's security and had no intention of holding bilateral talks with the United States at the meeting.
The Baghdad conference aimed at quelling the violence in Iraq is set to include the United States and neighbours of Iraq such as Iran and Syria, in a rare opportunity for the enemies to sit down at one table.
"No bilateral meetings (with the United States) are planned at the Baghdad conference," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Hosseini told reporters.
"We are in the process of examining our participation in the Baghdad conference. If it is our interests we will participate."
Hosseini also repeated that the United States had made "proposals" for talks with Iran although he did not specify if these concerned the Baghdad conference.
"Recently the Americans have made proposals for talks through different channels about Iraq and security in that country. We are in the process of examining these requests."
"Our priority is to help the Iraqi government to reinforce stability and security in the country. Insecurity in Iraq is not in our interests. There is a historic relationship between our two countries"
Iran's top security official Ali Larijani said last week that Tehran would take part in the conference on the condition that it was in the interests of its violence-plagued neighbour.
Iran and the United States have had no diplomatic relations since Washington severed ties in 1980 in the wake of the seizure of its embassy in Tehran by Islamist students.
Any official contacts between the two sides would mark a major break in the frozen relations, which have been marked by mutual recriminations and enmity over almost three decades.
Washington, which has repeatedly accused Tehran and its close ally Damascus of fomenting the violence in Iraq, said it would join the conference and would not rule out possible contacts between US envoys and Iranians.
The Baghdad conference aimed at quelling the violence in Iraq is set to include the United States and neighbours of Iraq such as Iran and Syria, in a rare opportunity for the enemies to sit down at one table.
"No bilateral meetings (with the United States) are planned at the Baghdad conference," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Hosseini told reporters.
"We are in the process of examining our participation in the Baghdad conference. If it is our interests we will participate."
Hosseini also repeated that the United States had made "proposals" for talks with Iran although he did not specify if these concerned the Baghdad conference.
"Recently the Americans have made proposals for talks through different channels about Iraq and security in that country. We are in the process of examining these requests."
"Our priority is to help the Iraqi government to reinforce stability and security in the country. Insecurity in Iraq is not in our interests. There is a historic relationship between our two countries"
Iran's top security official Ali Larijani said last week that Tehran would take part in the conference on the condition that it was in the interests of its violence-plagued neighbour.
Iran and the United States have had no diplomatic relations since Washington severed ties in 1980 in the wake of the seizure of its embassy in Tehran by Islamist students.
Any official contacts between the two sides would mark a major break in the frozen relations, which have been marked by mutual recriminations and enmity over almost three decades.
Washington, which has repeatedly accused Tehran and its close ally Damascus of fomenting the violence in Iraq, said it would join the conference and would not rule out possible contacts between US envoys and Iranians.