U.S. envoy discusses plans for Iran talks

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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107AP_Iraq_Khalizad.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said Friday that discussions were under way about when he would meet with Iranian officials about Iraq and that the talks should be held in Baghdad.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the Afghan-born Khalilzad also said the international community, particularly Arab states in the Persian Gulf, should help fund the rebuilding of the war-shattered country because they have "a lot at stake."

Khalilzad, who has played a major role in forcing Iraqi politicians to begin serious negotiations on forming a new government, suggested that Shiite Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari was not the unifying figure Iraq needed as the next head of government.

On Wednesday, Shiite political heavyweight Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who spent years in self-exile in Iran during Saddam Hussein's regime, called for Tehran to open talks with the United States about Iraq.