TEHRAN—Iran accused U.S.-led forces on Monday of a "massacre" of the Iraqi people and said further talks with Washington about improving security in its neighbour would be meaningless now.
The Foreign Ministry statement effectively puts on hold any new meetings between the two old foes, which last year held three rounds of ground-breaking discussions in Baghdad, easing a diplomatic freeze lasting almost three decades.
Iraq has repeatedly said it does not want its soil to become a battleground for a proxy war between the United States and Iran, which are also at loggerheads over Iran's nuclear ambitions. Iraqi officials have expressed growing frustration that a fourth round of talks has failed to get off the ground.
"Right now, what we observe in Iraq is a massacre of the Iraqi nation by the occupying forces," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told a news conference.
"Concerning this situation, talks with America will have no results and will be meaningless."
Hosseini did not elaborate, but U.S. forces have been fighting daily battles with militiamen loyal to anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad for several weeks.
Washington accuses Iran of funding, arming and training "rogue" elements of Sadr's Mehdi Army to attack U.S. and Iraqi forces, despite its public commitment to stabilising Iraq.
Tehran blames the violence on the U.S. presence in Iraq.
A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Baghdad said the United States had been willing for some time to have another round of talks with Iran, which have been organised by the Iraqi government.
"The Iranians have repeatedly found excuses not to come to the table. Now we see Iran attempting to shift attention away from its ongoing destabilising activities in Iraq," he said.
"We remain open to further talks if it becomes clear that Iran is taking constructive steps to end the flow of arms and demonstrate its positive intentions toward Iraq."
On Sunday, in response to earlier remarks by an unnamed Iranian official who said Tehran saw no need for more talks because of U.S. military action, the Iraqi government's spokesman said this should not concern Tehran.
"This is an internal issue," spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said, adding Baghdad wanted the two arch foes to hold more talks.
Despite the mutual accusations, U.S. and Iranian officials had launched talks in May last year aimed at easing bloodshed in Iraq. The fourth meeting has been postponed repeatedly.
The first three meetings were mainly aimed to break the ice but did also reach a deal to set up a joint security committee.
Support for Maliki
The Iranian Foreign Ministry also voiced support for Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in cracking down on "illegal" Shi'ite militias, after an Iraqi delegation urged Tehran to stop backing such groups.
The U.S. military said last week "very, very significant" amounts of Iranian arms had been found in Basra and Baghdad during an offensive against gunmen loyal to Sadr.
Maliki has ordered the formation of a committee to compile evidence of Iranian "interference" in Iraq that would then be presented to Tehran, Dabbagh said on Sunday.
He said Iranian officials who met a visiting Iraqi delegation last week had denied any meddling in Iraq, and Hosseini said Tehran had always supported stability there.
"What Iran has repeatedly said ... was its support for Mr Maliki's government," Hosseini said. "Iran believes that illegal armed groups that committed crimes should be legally confronted."
Ties between Iran and Iraq have improved since Sunni Arab strongman Saddam Hussein was ousted in the U.S.-led invasion and a Shi'ite-led government came to power in Baghdad.
Analysts say Tehran wants to keep a friendly government in charge but also wants to ensure rival Iraqi Shi'ite factions look to Iran as a power broker.
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