TEHRAN - Iran declared on Monday that it is prepared to participate in all regional and international plans for building confidence and establishing security.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran declares that it is ready to participate in all confidence-building and security-building initiatives in the region and the world which guarantee the rights of all countries,” President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said in a message to the “Persian Gulf Security and International Law” conference hosted by the Foreign Ministry.

“Permanent security in the Persian Gulf is possible only through the cooperation of regional countries, and without the presence and intervention of foreigners,” the president stated in the message.

Regional developments indicate that the presence of extra-regional powers has not brought security to the region and instead has been a source of rising insecurity and the emergence of serious problems, he added. ---------Iran prioritizes cooperation in Persian Gulf region

Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said one of the priorities of Iran’s foreign policy is to promote regional cooperation in the Persian Gulf region.

“The Persian Gulf littoral states can play a central role by drawing up a plan for regional convergence to direct regional developments and boost the region’s international status,” Mottaki told the scholars and officials from many different countries attending the international conference.

Pointing to the strategic and geopolitical significance of the Persian Gulf region, he said it has been a focus of international attention because it holds over two-thirds of the world’s proven energy resources.

In order to dominate the world, maintain their influence over strategic regional developments, and guarantee their access to cheap energy in the region, the extra-regional powers have been trying to turn certain regional differences, which could be resolved through bilateral or regional cooperation, into crises and long-term tensions, he observed.

Persian Gulf region has become market for arms sales

This approach of the external powers has cast a shadow over efforts to establish lasting security in the Persian Gulf region, he noted.

In addition, the military pacts signed between regional states and external powers have turned the region into a market for arms sales, he stated.

Iran ready to help U.S. withdraw from Iraq

Mottaki went on to say that setting a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq and the handover of responsibility for establishing security to the Iraqi government is the most effective strategy for emerging from the current dilemma and halting the spread of violence and bloodshed in the country.

Iran believes supporting the independence and territorial integrity of Iraq and helping to establish security in the country are religious and humanitarian duties, he explained.

“We strongly believe that the key to resolving the major problems in Iraq lies in the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq and cooperation between regional countries with the elected and popular government of Iraq. “And the Islamic Republic of Iran is prepared to help the U.S. withdraw its forces from Iraq and the region if it changes its behavior.”