The talks would not mean a breakthrough between the two foes as Iran would merely use the talks with U.S. diplomats to remind Washington of its "occupiers' duty" in the conflict-torn Iraq, state-run television quoted Khamenei as saying.
"The Iranian foreign ministry, at the request of Iraq, decided to participate in face-to-face talks with the United States and remind them of their duties and responsibilities over the security of Iraq," said the Iranian leader.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said on Sunday that Tehran has agreed to hold talks with the United States on Iraq.
"Following consultations between Iranian and Iraqi officials, Tehran has agreed to hold negotiations with Washington," Hosseini was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying at his weekly press conference.
The talks are aimed to "relieve pains and suffering of the Iraqi people, support and strengthen the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and stabilize security and peace in that country," Hosseini said.
The latest Iranian move comes just over a week after Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice exchanged brief greetings by saying hello to each other during a conference on Iraq's security in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Iran and the United States also held expert-level talks on the sideline of the international meeting on Iraq's security.
Source : news.xinhuanet.com
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