Iran's Participation at Summit Uncertain

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad looks on before his talks with his Sudanese counterpart Omar el-Bashir, not pictured, in Khartoum, Sudan, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007. The Iranian president, is on a two-day visit to Sudan, to discuss bilateral relations, the Darfur situation and sign economic agreements. (AP Photos/Abd Raouf) (Abd Raouf - AP)

CAIRO, Egypt -- Iran's level of participation remained uncertain Thursday as Iraq pushed ahead with plans to hold a March 10 conference with its neighbors and key Western countries on the Iraqi security crisis.

Some Arab neighbors like Egypt, for their part, still have grave doubts the gathering will accomplish much.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Wednesday the Iranians had agreed to participate in a meeting with Iraq's other neighbors. But he said "they have some questions" about a separate session that would be held the same day with the five permanent U.N. Security council members _ the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.

His words seemed to indicate that Iran was at least partly unhappy with the arrangements for the conference. Iran has had little public comment on the conference so far beyond saying it would weigh attending and that it generally supported regional efforts to stabilize Iraq.

In the past, Iranian leaders have accused the United States of trying to use the U.N. Security Council as a way to "gang up" on it.

U.N. diplomats said the Iranians might be waiting to see if the United States is prepared to discuss issues other than Iraq at the conference. Or, Iran may be reluctant to go to Iraq and face questions about the discovery of a factory north of Baghdad for assembling roadside bombs from Iranian-made components, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity.

Even as attention focused on whether Iran would attend, some of Iraq's Arab neighbors also remained leery of the conference _ potentially creating another complication.

Iraq's relations with its Arab neighbors have been rocky because of fears that the Shiite-led government is falling under Iran's influence.

Originally, the Iraqi government had been reluctant to endorse the regional conference, fearing pressure from Sunni-dominated regimes, but it dropped those objections last year so long as the gathering was held on Iraqi soil.

Two Arab diplomats in Cairo said Wednesday that the U.S. recently increased pressure on some Arab governments to press them to attend the conference, after they initially had turned down invitations from the Iraqi government. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity.

Syria and Egypt confirmed separately they would attend, but there was no immediate comment from Jordan or Saudi Arabia. Bahrain, Turkey and Kuwait also were invited, along with the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Each side in the Mideast's widening Shiite-Sunni split has accused another of being responsible for the spiraling violence in Iraq.