Iraq Brings to Table Two Countries Inching Closer to a War Footing

WASHINGTON — Iraq's Shiite-led government is embarking on a reconciliation project of its own between its two closest supporters, America and Iran.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Maliki was the host of a four-hour meeting in his residence in the American-protected Green Zone between America's ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and the Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kazemi Qomi. After the meeting, Mr. Maliki said his office would be looking to schedule follow-up discussions.

Mr. Maliki, who himself is being pressured by Mr. Crocker and American military commanders to purge sectarian government officials and target both Shiite and Sunni terrorists in the Baghdad security plan, yesterday said his country did not want to see Iraq become a battleground for neighboring states.

"Iraq will not be a springboard for threats against any of the neighboring countries," he said. "In return we look for a similar stance from the other states, especially our neighbors."

Yesterday's talks between America and Iran mark the first long-form discussions on security and Iraq between two countries that are inching closer to a war footing. In the last week, American diplomats began making the case at the United Nations for a new Security Council resolution against Iran's nuclear program in light of a damning report from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Meanwhile, the Iranians arrested what they claimed were spy rings supported by America and the United Kingdom. Mr. Crocker said he presented evidence to Mr. Qomi of Iran's role in supporting both Sunni and Shiia militants inside Iraq.

"I laid out the fact we have solid evidence linking Iran to support of armed militant groups attacking our soldiers and coalition forces," Mr. Crocker told reporters in a conference call following his meeting.

"We made clear that we are aware Iran is supplying such groups with arms, ammunitions and explosives, and EFPs. We know the revolutionary guards Quds force is the lead instrument in pursuing this policy and they need to stop this behavior that is killing our soldiers and innocent Iraqis," Mr. Crocker said, using an acronym to refer to armor-piercing munitions known as explosively formed projectiles.

Mr. Crocker was careful to say the evidence he presented was not of "judicial quality." Instead, he said, he "was making it clear we know what they are doing. This was a way to make it clear we know what they are up to."

According to Mr. Crocker, there was no immediate response from Mr. Qomi, who indicated that he reserved the right to respond to the charges later. In the past, Mr. Qomi has dismissed the charges of Quds Force meddling in Iraq.

According to the Associated Press, Mr. Qomi in the meeting recommended a next meeting in Baghdad and possibly a more formal security apparatus between America, Iran and Iraq.

Mr. Crocker yesterday would not say whether America was open to more talks. Instead he said he was looking for the Iranians to change behavior to meet the stated goals of its public policy, which is to support the stability of Iraq and the Iraqi government.

"We are taking this step by step," he said. "The point of these discussions is not about U.S. — Iranian relations. We have laid out some concerns. We are watching to see what action is taken. We will look at the overall situation. We will keep all our options open. It does not make sense to respond to what's not there."

Mr. Qomi said in an interview with Iranian television after the meeting that the primary cause of instability in Iraq is the presence of American troops. "The continuation of the U.S. forces' actions will naturally increase the problems of the Iraqi people and Iraq's government," he said.

Iranian leaders, including the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have since November publicly called for American troops to leave Iraq. The period since then has been characterized by American military officers as an uptick in Iranian terror support in Iraq.

Both Prime Minister Maliki and President Talabani have opposed legislators in their own parliament who have supported resolutions calling on American soldiers to leave, though without putting forward a timeline as American Democratic lawmakers pressed this spring.