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Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki is in Iran for talks aimed at improving relations between the two neighbors.
He is expected to raise allegations of Iranian support for Shia militants in Iraq when he meets with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Shia militiamen fought bitter battles with US and Iraqi government forces between March and May.
Also on the agenda are the ongoing US-Iraqi talks over the two countries' future, long-term relationship.
Maliki is on his third visit to Iran since taking office in June 2005.
He was met in Tehran by Iranian Vice-President Parviz Davoudi and is scheduled to meet Ahmadinejad Sunday.
"The prime minister's visit to Iran is considered a step in a series of visits... and to form a strategy committee to develop the relationship between the two nations," Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told AFP news agency.
Secret backing
Government sources say Iraqi security officials with the delegation will be showing the Iranians evidence of their alleged support for the militias, the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad reports.
Iran has always denied any involvement, but officials say Maliki will once again urge Tehran to support the Baghdad government and stop secretly backing militias.
Meanwhile, our correspondent says, Iran has made no secret of its opposition to the current negotiations going on between Iraq and the US, which are aimed at regulating the presence of US forces in the country after their UN mandate expires at the end of 2008.
The US-Iraqi talks, which are seeking to reach agreement by the end of July, have run into problems over issues related to Iraqi sovereignty.
Some Iraqi leaders believe there is also an Iranian-backed campaign to undermine those negotiations.
Our correspondent says Maliki will be seeking to assure the Iranians that any agreement that finally emerges will not represent a threat to Iran, but will be aimed at entrenching Iraqi security.
PHOTO CAPTION
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, is greeted by Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar after al-Maliki arrived at Mehrabad International airport in Tehran, Iran, Saturday June, 7, 2008.
BBC
