Broadcast 2 March on Iranian state satellite TV (IRINN)

Announcer: To get out of the current crisis and achieve consensus, the government of Iraq has announced the impending Baghdad meeting and has invited neighor nations and Security Council members to participate.

Political analysts believe that America's declaration that it is willing to attend this meeting is very important and represents a change of orientation at the White House.

After the increase in the number of bombings in Baghdad the government of Iraq, to get out of the present crisis and to establish stability and security in this country, invited its neighbors along with Egypt, Bahrain and the members of the Security Council to take part in a Baghdad meeting.

This decision by the government of Iraq was announced a time when the American President George Bush was under increasing domestic and foreign pressure. He finally changed his plans in Iraq to an extent and created a context for holding a regional and internatonal meeting.

After mentioning the place and importance of this meeting and announcing when it will be held, which will be on 10 March, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyari Zebari said:

Voice of Interpreter: Iraq does not want to be an arena for struggle and disagreement among nations. It would rather become a place of unity among states.

Announcer: The Baghdad meeting will be held at a time when the Baker-Hamilton group has recommended to American officials last November that they hold talks with Iran and Syria.

After the announcement of the Iraqi government's decision and its welcome by the Bush government, one of the American Democratic senators said:

Voice of Interpreter translating remarks by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: We should have taken this step years ago. We must realize that we can win with diplomacy, not with military force.

Announcer: White House Spokesman Tony Snow discussed America's attendance at this meeting and said:

Interpreter translating Tony Snow's remarks: We are happy that the government of Iraq took this step and began dealing with its neighbors.

Announcer: It is said the UK officials, despite welcoming the Baghdad meeting, have not officially declared their own willingness to attend. The American media have noted that the withrdrawal of UK troops from Iraq was a severe blow to Bush's strategy there and have said: Bush was ultimately obliged to put the Baker-Hamilton plan at the top of the agenda for his activites in Iraq.

It appears that the Bush government's decision to attend the Baghdad meeting along with Iraq's neighbor nations was a change in White House orientation intended to allay domestic criticism and gradually to accept the realities.

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Announcer: In this week's issue the Egyptian newspaper Ruz al-Yusuf, printed in Cairo, emphasizes that Iran has declared if it attends the meeting of Iraq's neighbors in Baghdad, it will be solely for the people of Iraq and not for any other objective.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, has said concerning this: If attending this meeting will help the interest of the nation of Iraq, Tehran will send its representatives to this meeting.

Ruz al-Yusuf writes that America has proposed that it hold talks with Iran about Iraq, but the Iranians have emphasized that they will attend this meeting to serve the interest of the people of Iraq, not in response to America's interests.