Iran and the United States put aside their wider disputes yesterday in an attempt to agree on common ground to help the Iraqi Government to achieve an end to the daily bloodshed.

The rare show of public diplomacy lasted four hours and ended with both sides showing a willingness to meet again.

The most high-profile contact between the two countries in almost 30 years could lead to a thawing in relations — frozen since 1980 and exacerbated by American fears about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and Iranian concerns over the potential threat of US military action.

Ryan Crocker, the new US Ambassador to Iraq, and his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, shook hands at the start of the meeting in Baghdad, which Mr Crocker described as businesslike and positive.

“There was pretty good congruence right down the line in support of a secure, stable, democratic, federal Iraq in control of its own security, at peace with its neighbours,” Mr Crocker said after the meeting, which was hosted by Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister.

Mr Qomi said: “Generally there was positive fruit from this round of negotiations . . . [they] were an important first step between the two sides.”

At the closed-door talks in the fortified green zone, Washington laid out its concerns about Tehran’s alleged involvement in supporting militant groups that attack Iraqi and US-led forces, including the British military in the south.

Mr Crocker said that he also spoke about “the fact that a lot of the explosives and ammunition that are used by these groups are coming from Iran”.

The Iranians, whose leadership has long attacked the US as the Great Satan, rejected such accusations and raised their own fears, calling the US presence in Iraq an occupation. Tehran also criticised efforts to train the Iraqi Army and police as inadequate.

The Islamic Republic suggested creating a three-way system, comprising Iran, Iraq and the United States, to coordinate security.

Mr Crocker, however, cautioned that while all sides agreed on the principles of how to tackle Iraq’s security nightmare, what really mattered was putting words into practice.

“What we need to see is Iranian action on the ground come into harmony with their stated principles,” he said.

Ali al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesman, said: “It shows that both countries are looking at getting the problems solved.”

Both sides said Mr al-Maliki’s Government would invite them to meet again and — when that happened — they would consider the proposal.

“The timing for more talks will be announced later after more consultations,” the Iranian envoy told state television.

Bad blood

— 1979 US-backed Shah removed, and new leader Ayatollah Khomeini dubs US “Great Satan”. US Embassy stormed, 52 hostages held for 444 days

— April 1980 US hostage rescue attempt ends with eight servicemen dead

— November 1986 Iran-Contra scandal breaks. US illegally sold arms to Iran to fund Nicaraguan rebels

— July 1988 Iranian airliner mistakenly shot down by US warship, killing 290

— January 2002 President Bush calls Iran, Iraq and North Korea “Axis of Evil”

Source: Times Archives

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