Iran calls on foreign forces to leave Iraq

TEHRAN, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said Tuesday that the aliens as well as occupiers should pull out their forces from Iraq and let the Iraqi people handle their own affairs, the official IRNA news agency reported.

It is the Iraqi people who should maintain security and peace in the country, said Najjar prior to his departure for Egypt to attend the sixth conference of Iraq's neighboring states.

Considering the U.S. presence by its borders as a threat to the country, Iranian officials have reiterated that with the U.S. and all foreign forces' presence in Iraq, no peace can be expected for the Iraqi people.

According to Najjar, various issues are to be put on the agenda of the conference, including the security of borders, preventing cross-border activities of terrorists and smuggling of weapons to Iraqi soil.

He expressed hope that the conference would help restore tranquility, peace and stability to Iraq.

The conference, to start in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday, will be attended by Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, Bahrain and Turkey, as well as representatives from the United Nations, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and the Arab League.