Iran Joins Outcry Against 'excessive Force' in Iraq

The Iranian, Egyptian and Syrian governments accused the US yesterday of using excessive force to quell rebels in Iraq.

The Syrian foreign minister, Farouk al-Sharaa, said at an international conference in Sharm el-Sheikh that although condemning terrorism, "we cannot over-emphasise the need to refrain from shelling civilians, destroying cities and killing innocent people".

More than 20 countries and organisations, including the US, Britain, the UN, and Iraq's neighbours took part in the one-day meeting on the future of Iraq at the Egyptian Red Sea resort.

The Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, criticised "the use of excessive force and bombing of towns" but also condemned the insurgents for kidnappings and other acts of violence, saying: "Such acts will help prolong the presence of foreign troops in Iraq."

The Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, expressed dismay at the American tactics, even though Washington counts Egypt as an ally.

"The policy of violence and intimidation and the overuse of force ... will only lead to further divisions, damage and destruction," he said.

In spite of the criticism, the overall tone of the conference was supportive of the interim Iraqi government. The closing communique condemned "all acts of terrorism in Iraq", urged the interim government to "deal resolutely" with the insurgents and supported the elections to an interim national assembly planned for January 30.

It was a largely formulaic statement, skipping over the international community's continuing differences on Iraq, including the withdrawal of the coalition.

The most interesting developments were informal, particularly a rare private discussion between the US and Iranian governments over dinner.

The outgoing US secretary of state, Colin Powell, was seated with the Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi. Relations between the two governments have been strained since the Iranian revolution in 1979 and, more recently, over Iran's alleged covert nuclear weapons programme.

The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, who also met Mr Kharrazi, said the international support for the Iraqi elections was helpful. He predicted that successful elections would help reduce violence.

The communique proposed that non-violent opposition groups which had not been invited to Sharm-el-Sheikh should meet before the elections, to widen the participation.

Bahrain offered to host the meeting but the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, said he would prefer it to be held in Baghdad.

He also defended the role of the coalition forces which were, he said, "essential to help secure necessary conditions for voting and to support our security forces in stabilising the country".

The communique called on Iraq's neighbours to "intensify cooperation" to control Iraq's borders. The US has repeatedly accused Syria of allowing insurgents free movement across its border.

Mr Powell, who held talks with his Syrian counterpart, said yesterday: "The Syrians have taken some steps recently, but we think there's a lot more they can do."

He was asked at a press conference about US soldiers entering mosques, especially in Falluja, which has angered many Muslims.

He said the US understood the sanctity of mosques, but the insurgents had stored weapons in them. US soldiers had removed these weapons so that the mosques could again be used as places of worship, he said.

Some Arab countries, including Egypt, tried to extend the conference to the Israeli-Palestinian question, but that issue was discussed at a separate meeting.

The UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, said afterwards that the Palestinian presidential election was a good opportunity to revive the peace process.