An Iranian delegation left Teheran on Sunday for Baghdad for talks with the US on Iraq's security, the official news agency reported.

Iran said today's talks will include discussions on security, a timetable for US forces to leave Iraq, Iran's participation in Iraq's reconstruction and the presence of the opposition group, MEK, in Iraq, the news agency, IRNA, reported.

The ambassador-level talks will include Iraqi security chief Mouwafak al-Rubaie, IRNA said. It did not provide further details.

The Baghdad talks, which both sides say will focus solely on Iraq, are the first of their kind and a small sign that Washington thinks rapprochement is possible after nearly three decades of animosity.

There is great distrust between the two nations, which are now in dispute over Iran's nuclear program. The US also accuses Iran of arming and training Shi'ite militias in Iraq, which Iran denies. Iran says the presence of US troops has stoked the insurgency.

The MEK, also known as the People's Mujahedeen of Iran, and its affiliates were deemed foreign terrorist organizations by the US State Department in 1997. The group was founded in Iran in the 1960s and moved to Iraq in the early 1980s to base its activities against Iran's government. It sided with Iraq in its 1980-88 war against Iran.

Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, cautioned against expecting too much from the talks. "One needs to be very careful about confusing progress with dialogue," he said.

"The US knows what it wants from Iran... but it is far from clear that it can get it. The US wants Iran to stop support for Shi'ite militias and providing arms. At the same time the administration cannot offer much in return," he said.

Crocker has said he does not expect "any stunning, startling breakthroughs" from the meeting. US officials say he will press Iran to take steps to reduce violence in Iraq.

Iran denies it is fomenting violence and has called on US forces to get out of Iraq, saying their presence is fuelling sectarian violence.

(China Daily via agencies May 28, 2007)