Iran promotes weekend summit just days before Bush's summit

The summit will 'shake' Bush, one editorial writer wrote.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran touted its weekend summit Wednesday with the Iraqi and Syrian presidents, scheduled only days before President Bush holds a summit of his own with Iraq's prime minister. With the U.S. looking for a way out of Iraq, Tehran is aiming to secure a larger role in the region.
The Iranian parliamentary speaker, Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, told the official Islamic Republic News Agency that Saturday's summit in Tehran is designed to bring Iran, Syria and Iraq closer together. "We hope the summit will boost relations between the three countries," he said.
Iranian analyst Ahmad Bakhshayesh said the government has more specific aims.
"Iran wants to increase its influence in Iraq," said Bakhshayesh, a professor of political science at Allameh University in Tehran. "It also wants to support the government in Iraq so it can stand on its own feet after the United States has withdrawn its forces."
The editorial writer in the conservative Kayhan newspaper went further, writing in Wednesday's edition that the summit would "shake the U.S. president" as he faces strong disapproval of his war strategy.
The United States insists Iran and Syria are helping fuel the turmoil in Iraq, and it wants Iraqi leaders to send a strong message to Tehran to stop interference. Iran is believed to give backing to Shiite militias accused in Iraq's sectarian violence, and Syria is accused by the U.S. of turning a blind eye to Iraqi insurgents that use its territory as a base.
At the same time, the Bush administration is under increased pressure at home to open a dialogue with Iran and Syria to help calm Iraq. The Tehran summit may be an attempt by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to show that any dialogue over his country's role in Iraq will be on his terms.
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