Iran and Iraq will sign a deal in the next few days to build a pipeline that would transfer crude from southern Iraqi oilfields to refineries in Iran, a senior Iranian official said yesterday.

Iran’s envoy at a conference on Iraq security in the Syrian capital denied accusations by the United States that Teheran is fueling Iraq’s violence.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari assessed the trilateral meetings between Iran, Iraq and the US as positive, and further called on Tehran and Washington to continue the talks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki underlined eagerness of Tehran and Baghdad to further expand ties, saying that his visit to Tehran was aimed at implementation of the agreements already held by the two sides.

Iran’s first Vice-President Parviz Davoudi said his country favors an advanced and stable Iraq, adding that Tehran has devised proper projects for the development and welfare of the Iraqi people.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki here on Thursday called on Washington to revise its wrong policies in Iraq, reminding that the United States’ present distress is a product of the same wrong policies.

  The Baghdad government plans to send 6,000 Kurdish soldiers — known as peshmerga — to help secure oil and electricity installations in the multiethnic region of Kirkuk.

69.5% of Iranians believe that West’s sanctions against Iran could not hurt their national solidarity, results of a recent opinion poll suggested.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blasted great powers for their bullying approach towards other world nations, warning that their demise is imminent.

Iran’s Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie said more individuals have been summoned to the court in relation to the cases of Haleh Esfandyari and Ramin Jahanbaglou.