Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa on Tuesday described U.S.-Iran talks on Iraq as a "positive step" towards diplomatic dialogue, instead of the rhetoric challenge, Egypt's MENA news agency reported.

Moussa said the Arab world called for "Iranian-U.S. contacts instead of challenge and sanctions," according to MENA.

The AL chief, however, said the U.S. and Iran were not the only two parties concerned with the Iraqi issue. "Developments in Iraq should go hand in hand with Arab interests," he was quoted as saying.

On Monday, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker held a four- hour meeting with a main focus on Iraqi issues with Iranian ambassador to Iraq Hassan Kazemi Qomi.

The talks is the first for the United States and Iran since the diplomatic relations have been severed for more than two decades.

Source: Xinhua