Ongoing consultations among regional countries especially the neighboring countries of Iraq are underway to avert the possible U.S. war on Iraq.

According to Turkey's Anatolia News Agency, diplomatic sources in Ankara have reported of an upcoming meeting of foreign ministers of six regional countries in Istanbul on Thursday.

Accordingly, foreign ministers from Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt and Jordan will take part in the event. It added the meeting will make preparations for holding a summit meeting among regional countries' leaders to find ways of peacefully solving the issue of Iraq.

Regional consultations started weeks ago to find a diplomatic solution to the Iraqi crisis and Tehran also has been a venue for such negotiations. The recent meeting between the Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara and his Kuwaiti counterpart Sabah al-Hamad al Sabah took place in the same framework. By the same token, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arabic-African Affairs Mohammad Sadr visited the United Arab Emirates during January 18 to 20. During the visit, he conveyed a message from Iranian President Mohammad Khatami to the head of the UAE Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan al-Nahyan. In addition, Sadr conferred with the UAE foreign and defense ministers and held talks on developments in Iraq also reviewing ways to expand bilateral ties.

These efforts are proof of regional countries' firm will to solve the problem of Iraq through diplomatic means. Meantime, during Al-Shara's visit to Tehran, President Khatami noted that war against Iraq is not only contrary to the interests of the Iraqi people, but it is also in contrast with the collective interests and security of the regional states.

The United States is ruthlessly following its sole ambition of hegemony and control over regional energy resources. In light of this matter all the countries in the region are worried about the pending U.S. attack on Iraq. In order to counter the U.S. military build-up in the region aimed at invading Iraq, diplomatic consultations have sped up with the initial aim of preventing war in the region.

In the meantime, the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to follow its logical policy on the matter. Tehran is against any unilateral military action against Iraq and emphasizes that the crisis must be resolved through diplomatic channels. In this regard Tehran has always been a forerunner of peace in the region and presently encourages Syria and Turkey in their endeavor to hold the related regional leaders' summit to help solve the crisis in Iraq.