Iran Blames Us for Iraq Chaos

The Iranian foreign minister today said the US had to take responsibility for the terrorism in Iraq because of its occupation of the country.

Manouchehr Mottaki's comments came at a summit on the future of Iraq, taking place in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik. They have dented hopes that the two-day conference could stage the first high-level talks between Iran and the US since 1979.

The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, is attending the summit, and the Iraqi government has been urging her to meet Mr Mottaki for bilateral talks.

The Guardian's Ian Black reported that such a meeting was now very unlikely.

US and British officials have accused Iranian elements of helping insurgents in Iraq, but the Iranian foreign minister blamed the US for the violence.

"The continuation of and increase in terrorist acts in Iraq originates from the flawed approaches adopted by the foreign troops," he said. "Thus, in our view, the continuation of occupation lies at the origin of the crisis.

"The United States must accept the responsibilities arising from the occupation of Iraq, and should not finger point or put the blame on others."

Mr Mottaki also called for the immediate release of five Iranians detained by US troops in Irbil, northern Iraq, in January, describing their abduction as a "brazen contravention of international conventions".

In addition to the conflict over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, the capture of the five is a source of continuing tension between the US and Iran.

Washington claims the men were Iranian Revolutionary Guards who were in Iraq to help finance and arm Iraqi insurgents, but Iran has denied this and insists they are diplomats.

Mr Mottaki's remarks today angered the Iraqi delegation, led by the country's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, who has sought to bridge disputes between Tehran and Washington.

At one point, Mr Mottaki had suggested he might not attend the two-day conference unless the Iranians were freed. One aide to the Iranian foreign minister said his comments were intended to "settle accounts", adding: "We didn't expect it to be in this manner".

Hopes of a meeting between Ms Rice and Mr Mottaki were boosted yesterday when the US secretary of state held talks with her Syrian counterpart - the first high-level meeting between the US and Syria for two years.

The Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, told reporters that US and Iranian ambassadors had met privately on the sidelines of the summit.

It was the second such meeting to have taken place since March 10, when the US and Iranian ambassadors to Iraq discussed security issues in that country.

Today, Mr Zebari said: "I don't know what happened during this meeting, but I believe it was positive and indications are positive."