Baghdad, Iraq – The U.S. and Iranian ambassadors to Iraq met Monday for their third round of security talks in just over two months, a U.S. official said, despite renewed military claims that Tehran is fueling the violence.
U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker met with counterpart Hassan Kazemi Qomi for about two hours after U.S., Iraqi and Iranian experts held their first talks as part of a security subcommittee, according to the U.S. Embassy.
The high-level discussions were “frank and serious,” embassy spokesman Philip Reeker said. He said they were held at the office of Iraq national security adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie but gave no further details.
Washington has accused Teh ran of fueling the violence by arming and training Shiite extremists, but Crocker and Qomi agreed during their July 24 talks to set up a security subcommittee to carry forward talks on restoring stability in Iraq.
The subcommittee met for the first time Monday in Baghdad, with the three sides around three conference tables at an Iraqi government office in the heavily fortified Green Zone. Reeker said the sides agreed to meet again at a later date.
The diplomatic activity came a day after the No. 2 U.S. military commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, blamed Iran for sharply increasing its support in providing weapons and training to rogue Shiite militiamen who he said had launched 73 percent of the attacks that killed or wounded American forces last month in Baghdad.
That was nearly double the figure six months earlier, Odierno said, adding he believes Iran is trying to influence public opinion ahead of a September report to the U.S. Congress on Iraq’s political and military progress.
Tehran has consistently denied the U.S. allegations.
On Monday, the Iranian delegation criticized what it called America’s “suspicious” security approach toward Iraq and called for “a change in the broad policies and approach of the U.S.” in Iraq during the expert-level talks, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
