( AP ) - Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said Monday that higher level talks with the U.S. on security in Iraq were not necessary, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Mohammad Ali Hosseini's comments seemed to contradict those by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who said last week after a meeting between the two countries' ambassadors to Iraq that Tehran was open to the idea of more senior level discussions.
"There is no need for upgrading the level of talks between Iran and the U.S. over Iraq," IRNA quoted Hosseini as saying. "Such an offer has not been proposed by Iran."
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said last week there would be no request from Washington for higher-level talks following the meeting between U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Iranian Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi in Baghdad.
The two agreed to set up a security subcommittee to carry forward talks on restoring stability in Iraq, and McCormack said the U.S. was comfortable with the current channels of discussion.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has expressed hope that the next round of talks would be at a more senior level.
Iraq's fragile government has been pressing for more contacts between the two nations with the greatest influence over its future.
Iran holds considerable sway in Iraq, where the majority of the population is also Shiite Muslim and where many Shiite political parties are seen as having ties to Tehran.
The first round of Iran-U.S. talks, on May 28 in Baghdad, broke a 27-year diplomatic freeze following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran.