Iran would be invited to an international conference on Afghanistan proposed by the United States for the coming weeks if the event goes ahead, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told NATO and European Union officials. “If we move forward with such a meeting, it is expected that Iran would be invited,” Clinton said after talks with NATO counterparts at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters. Such a move would offer the first chance for direct talks between the US and Iran after years of diplomatic deadlock over Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme. But the US will also push Russia not to sell long-range missiles to the country, which the US believes is trying to build a nuclear bomb, she said. Such a move would pose a “danger to Russia as well as to Europe and neighbours in the region,” Clinton said, and she insisted that the US would keep up efforts to end Iran’s controversial nuclear programme, which the US sees as aimed at creating a nuclear bomb.

“There is an ongoing debate about what the status of Iran’s nuclear weapons production capacity is, but I don’t think there is a credible debate about their intention. Our task is to dissuade them, deter them, prevent them from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” she said. At the meeting, Clinton proposed a regional conference with key players such as NATO, the UN, Russia, India and Pakistan aimed at stabilising Afghanistan.

“We have presented this idea, which is being discussed as a way of bringing all stakeholders together,” including regional and international states and multinational organisations, she said. The conference could be held in a European capital around March 31, but the date remained to be confirmed, diplomatic sources said. However, debate remains over the question of whether the socalled “big tent” meeting should be organised by NATO or the United Nations. Clinton’s proposal received a positive response from NATO allies, including Germany, France and Italy. The secretary of state also told ministers that the strategic review by the US of its Afghan mission would push for a stepping up of efforts on both civilian and military issues. It would also push for closer ties with the people and governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan, she said.