U.S. withdrawal needed for security, Iran tells Iraq

[ProSense]

U.S. withdrawal needed for security, Iran tells Iraq

By Fredrik Dahl
1 hour, 55 minutes ago

TEHRAN (Reuters) - An end to violence in Iraq depends on the United States withdrawing its troops, Iran told Iraq's prime minister on Thursday, seeking to deflect the blame for bloodshed that Washington directs at Tehran.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, facing deepening political woes at home and U.S. criticism for lack of progress in bridging sectarian divisions, won pledges of support from Shi'ite Iran during a visit to Tehran.

With Shi'ite Muslims now in power also in Baghdad, ties between the two oil-rich countries have improved since U.S.-led forces in 2003 toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Arab who waged an eight-year war against Iran in the 1980s.

But the U.S. military accuses the Islamic Republic of arming and training militias behind some of the violence threatening to tear Iraq apart. Iran rejects the charge and blames the presence of U.S. forces, now numbering about 162,000, for the bloodshed.

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Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (L) and Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wave to journalists as they attend an
official meeting in Tehran August 8, 2007. An end to violence in
Iraq depends on the United States withdrawing its troops, Iran told
Iraq's prime minister on Thursday, seeking to deflect the blame for
bloodshed that Washington directs at Tehran. (Fars News/Reuters)

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1. handholders------they ae buds.