Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (right) welcomes his Iraqi counterpart Jalal Talabani before an official meeting in Tehran yesterday. - Reuters

TEHRAN (Reuters):

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country would do whatever it could to help improve security in Iraq, where tensions are running high after the worst bombing since the 2003 United States invasion.

Ahmadinejad made the pledge at the start of a visit by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, whose trip was delayed by two days because of a curfew on Baghdad after a bomb attack last Thursday killed 200 Shi'ite Muslims. The curfew was lifted yesterday.

The United States is facing growing calls to hold talks with Tehran to help end the bloodshed, which U.S. officials say is being fuelled by Iranian weapons exports and backing for Shi'ite groups. Iran dismisses the charges.

"The Iranian nation and government will definitely stand beside their brother, Iraq, and any help the government and nation of Iran can give to strengthen security in Iraq will be given," Ahmadinejad said, according to Iran's ISNA news agency.

"We have no limitation for cooperation in any field."

Ahmadinejad was speaking shortly after Talabani's arrival and just before the two presidents held formal talks.

Talabani said he would discuss improving ties between the neighbours, which fought a bloody eight-year war in the 1980s.

Needs assistance

"In this trip, we will also talk about Iraq's security file because Iraq needs the comprehensive assistance of Iran to fight terrorism and create stability," Talabani was quoted as saying.

Political analysts said Iran might try to use talks with Talabani to show off its influence to the United States and bolster its position ahead of any dialogue with its old enemy. They also said Iran's ability to stem the bloodshed was limited.

The analysts said Talabani, who speaks Farsi fluently after years of contacts with Iran when he was in opposition to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, could press Iran to stop seeing Iraq as a battleground in its three-decade-old fight with Washington.