The United States will not meet with Iran to discuss its role in Iraq until Baghdad forms a new government, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzadto said on Sunday.

"We do not want to give the impression that the United States is sitting with Iran to decide about the Iraqi government. The Iraqi will decide that," the US ambassador told "Fox News Sunday", who will represent the U.S. when the meeting is due.

Baghdad was struggling to form a unity government amid quarrels between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni leaders. The dominant Shiites' choice of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari as head of the next government was met with strong opposition from Sunnis and Kurds who blamed al-Jaafari for the rise in tensions between Sunnis and Shiites lately.

Washington, which has played down worries that a civil war is imminent in Iraq while pressing it to speed up the government forming process, accused Tehran of fomenting Shi'ite violence in Iraq. Tehran denied the charge and blamed the the turbulence on occupation by U.S.-led troops.

Iranian officials said earlier the discussions with the U.S. will only cover the Iraq issue, instead of Iran's nuclear program.

Source: Xinhua