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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Iraq president begins Iran trip | Iraq president begins Iran trip |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has arrived in Iran for key talks on his country's security situation. | |
| Mr Talabani was expected to travel at the weekend but was delayed by a curfew imposed after bomb attacks in Baghdad on Thursday killed more than 200. | Mr Talabani was expected to travel at the weekend but was delayed by a curfew imposed after bomb attacks in Baghdad on Thursday killed more than 200. |
| The president plans to meet his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. | |
| The trip is part of a renewed flurry of diplomacy that sees US President George W Bush visiting Jordan this week. | The trip is part of a renewed flurry of diplomacy that sees US President George W Bush visiting Jordan this week. |
| The BBC's world affairs correspondent Nick Childs says the approach to Iraq has shifted dramatically in recent weeks. | The BBC's world affairs correspondent Nick Childs says the approach to Iraq has shifted dramatically in recent weeks. |
| He says Republican losses in US mid-term elections, increasing violence in Iraq and a new regional diplomatic assertiveness by Iran have changed the situation. | He says Republican losses in US mid-term elections, increasing violence in Iraq and a new regional diplomatic assertiveness by Iran have changed the situation. |
| Mr Talabani's visit to Iran will be keenly watched in the West, he says. | Mr Talabani's visit to Iran will be keenly watched in the West, he says. |
| Diplomatic muscle | Diplomatic muscle |
| Increased contact with Iran and Syria is one of the options being considered by the US Iraq Study Group, which is in its final stages of deliberation on recommending what new policies Washington could adopt on Iraq. | Increased contact with Iran and Syria is one of the options being considered by the US Iraq Study Group, which is in its final stages of deliberation on recommending what new policies Washington could adopt on Iraq. |
| The trip was delayed by the Sadr City bomb attacks on Thursday | The trip was delayed by the Sadr City bomb attacks on Thursday |
| Speaking last week before the delay to his trip, Mr Talabani said the agenda would be "strengthening relations and Iraq's security". | Speaking last week before the delay to his trip, Mr Talabani said the agenda would be "strengthening relations and Iraq's security". |
| Some analysts say he may use the visit to urge Iran not to use Iraq as a tool in its conflict with the US while Iran may try to exert its diplomatic muscle ahead of any future negotiations with the US on Iraq, | Some analysts say he may use the visit to urge Iran not to use Iraq as a tool in its conflict with the US while Iran may try to exert its diplomatic muscle ahead of any future negotiations with the US on Iraq, |
| The US has accused Iran of funding Shia militants in Baghdad and southern Iraq. | The US has accused Iran of funding Shia militants in Baghdad and southern Iraq. |
| Mr Bush will meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in Jordan this week while Vice-President Dick Cheney has just been in Saudi Arabia. | Mr Bush will meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in Jordan this week while Vice-President Dick Cheney has just been in Saudi Arabia. |
| Our correspondent says the Bush administration clearly remains dubious about engaging Iran but adds that US influence on events in Iraq may be becoming more limited just when the need for a clearer exit strategy is becoming politically more acute. | Our correspondent says the Bush administration clearly remains dubious about engaging Iran but adds that US influence on events in Iraq may be becoming more limited just when the need for a clearer exit strategy is becoming politically more acute. |