DAR AL ISLAM - IRAQ: IRAQ'S SHI'AH WANT THE UNITED STATES TO TALK TO IRAN

Iraqi Shia leader seeks Iran-US talks

A powerful Iraqi Shia leader said today that Iraqi officials want to see talks between Iran and the United States as a means of easing tensions in the region.

"A negotiation between Iran and America is really important. All the Iraqi authorities involved in Iraq are calling for this," Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, who spent years in exile in Iran, was quoted by Iran's official IRNA news agency.

When he visited Tehran in March 2006, he also called for dialogue between the two foes.

That proposal initially won Iran's backing, but Tehran later said it had no need for such discussions. Mr Hakim was speaking after a meeting in Tehran with Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

The United States has said it is ready for talks with Iran if it first halts uranium enrichment because it fears Tehran wants to use it to make atomic warheads.

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