DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - U.S.A./IRAN: SECRETARY OF STATE RICE GROVELS SO THE IRANIANS WOULD ATTEND THE 'SECURITY' MEETING CONCERNING IRAQ

US urges Iran to join Iraq talks

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged Iran to join her at a high-level conference on the future of Iraq next week, signalling that Washington is now ready for a serious exchange of views with Tehran after several months of resisting Irans advances in the region.

In an interview with the Financial Times (FT) newspaper Monday, Rice said it would be a "missed opportunity" if Manouchehr Mottaki, Irans foreign minister, did not attend the minister-level meeting to be hosted by Egypt in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Rice denied that the Bush administrations Iran policy had ever been directed at regime change, insisting that the aim was to "have a change in regime behaviour." Washingtons need to secure the right regional environment for its eventual withdrawal from Iraq is growing ever more acute as its "surge" of extra troops is failing to contain the violence, the main business daily in Europe noted.

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