The United States accused Iran in talks today of increasing support for militias involved in bloodshed in Iraq but, in a rare sign of co-operation, agreed with Tehran to set up a panel to improve security.
In their second round of talks on Iraq this year after a long diplomatic freeze, US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said he also challenged Iran over its suspected support for other radical groups in the Middle East such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran rejected all of the accusations, he said.
"We expressed concerns over Iranian activities and support of violent militia elements through both arming and training," he said after meeting Iranian Ambassador Hassan Kazemi-Qomi.
"The fact is, and we made it very clear in today's talks, that over the roughly two months we have actually seen militia-related activities that can be attributed to Iranian support go up and not down."
Mr Crocker said Iran agreed in principle to join a new trilateral security sub-committee to investigate issues such as support for extremist militias and al Qaeda in Iraq.
Details will be worked out in the next few days, he said. "They maintain they're serious about assisting Iraq to improve security and stability, so the opportunity is in front of them. We'll measure it by actions on the ground," Mr Crocker said, speaking later to reporters by telephone.
US President George W. Bush, faced with a new opinion poll showing anti-war sentiment on the rise, on Tuesday ratcheted up his efforts to link the US-led fight in Iraq to the broader battle against al-Qaeda.
Mr Bush cited newly declassified intelligence as he gave an impassioned response to criticism that the U.S. focus on Iraq has become a distraction from the wider war on terrorism.
"Al Qaeda in Iraq is a group founded by foreign terrorists, led largely by foreign terrorists and loyal to a foreign terrorist leader: Osama bin Laden," Mr Bush told an audience at an air force base in Charleston, South Carolina.