Larijani: US engaged in secret talks with terrorists

Iran's Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani said today that, based on information obtained, the Americans are engaged in secret talks with terrorists in Iraq and the US ambassador to the country held negotiations with terrorist groups a couple of months ago.

Larijani made the remarks at a press conference after his meeting with Ayatollah Sistani, the spiritual leader of Shiite Muslims in Iraq.

The Americans have been trapped in Iraq's quagmire and seek to find new opportunities to get rid of existing situation, he said.

Refuting to baseless allegations raised on Iran's cooperation with terrorists in Iraq, he said Iran has always condemned terrorist moves all over in the world and has always supported the legitimate Iraqi government.

On implementation of economic projects in Iraq, he said "We have allocated one billion dollars to implement development projects in Iraq." A joint committee is now exploring grounds for implementation of projects and Iran has declared that it spares no efforts to accomplish such a grave task, he said.

The Iraqi people along with the country's officials and political figures should not let the upcoming Sharm el-Sheikh conference in Egypt turn into an excuse for others to interfere in the country's internal affairs, Larijani said.

Larijani heading a delegation arrived in Iraq on Sunday to confer with the country's officials on expansion of mutual cooperation and review regional developments.