Al-Hakim discusses with Khatami the situation in Iraq

The "Iranian Students News agency" said that the Iraqi Shiite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim met with the Iranian President Muhammad Khatami and discussed with him latest developments in Iraq.

The agency quoted Khatami as saying to al-Hakim that "the fate of the Iraqis is directly linked to the fate of the Iranians" and called for "quick formation of a people's government under the supervision of the UN." For his part, al-Hakim announced that stability can be only attained in Iraq through the withdrawal of the coalition forces and the formation of a democratically elected government.

Al-Hakim also met with the Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharazy and the chief of the Iranian judiciary Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, who also called for immediate end of the occupation of Iraq.