BAGHDAD - U.S. and Iranian envoys held direct talks on Saturday on efforts to end Iraq's violence and bolster its government, opening limited but potentially significant contacts that could ease their nearly 28-year diplomatic freeze.

The discussions were confined to a closed-door session during a conference on Iraq's stability, but they appeared to offer room for further interaction between the two nations - which find themselves increasingly drawn toward common issues in Iraq.

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmy Khalilzad, said he exchanged views with Iranian delegates directly and in the presence of others at the gathering led by Iraq's neighbors and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. He declined to give details of the
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contacts - calling them only constructive, businesslike and problem-solving - but noted that he raised Washington's assertions that Shi'ite militias receive weapons and assistance across the border from Iran.

The chief Iranian envoy, Abbas Araghchi, said he restated Tehran's demands for a clear timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces, which he insisted have made Iraq a magnet for extremists from across the Muslim world. Araghchi, deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said he held no face-to-face talks with Khalilzad, but that all dialogue was within the framework of the meeting.

For Iran, opening more direct contacts with Washington could help promote their shared interests in Iraq, including trying to stamp out Sunni-led insurgents. U.S. officials, meanwhile, need the support of Iranian-allied political groups in Iraq to keep a lid on Shi'ite militias. Washington broke off ties with Iran after militants occupied the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, opened the meeting with an appeal for international help to sever networks aiding extremists and warned that Iraq's growing sectarian bloodshed could spill across the Middle East.

Khalilzad also urged nations bordering Iraq to expand assistance to al-Maliki's government, saying the future of Iraq and the Middle East is the defining issue of our time. "[Iraq] needs support in this battle that not only threatens Iraq but will spill over to all countries in the region," al-Maliki said  shortly before mortar shells landed near the conference site and a car bomb exploded in a Shi'ite stronghold across the city.

Security was extremely tight as envoys gathered in Iraq's Foreign Ministry, which is outside the heavily protected Green Zone. Shortly after the meeting began, at least two mortar shells hit near the Foreign Ministry. There were no casualties.

Khalilzad did not specifically mention Iran in statements to delegates, but he offered indirect messages that Washington acknowledges Tehran's growing influence in the region.

"The U.S. seeks an Iraq that is at peace with its neighbors; and neighbors that are at peace with Iraq," he said, according to a text distributed by the U.S. Embassy. But he also reasserted U.S. claims that Syria allows foreign jihadists and Sunni insurgents to cross its
border into Iraq, and that weapon shipments from Iran reach Shi'ite militias. Both nations deny the allegations.

Iran has strongly denounced the U.S. military presence even though it toppled their old foe Saddam Hussein. The complaints grew more pointed in December after American forces detained two Iranian security agents at the compound of a major Shi'ite political bloc in Baghdad. Six other Iranians were arrested January 11 at an Iranian liaison office in northern Iraq. The U.S. military said they were members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard - a charge Tehran rejects.

Khalilzad appeared to address Iran's complaints by saying U.S.-led troops do not have anyone in detention who is a diplomat. The Iranian envoy Araghchi complained the officials were kidnapped by U.S. forces and were members of the diplomatic staff.

The showdown over Iran's nuclear program also lurks behind any attempt to open a diplomatic dialogue.

French FM: Iran must halt nukes or face isolation
Iran will face isolation if it doesn't suspend uranium enrichment and
unanimity is needed on the new Security Council resolution to expand sanctions against it, the French foreign minister said Saturday.

Philippe Douste-Blazy, at the end of a brief visit to Kuwait, told reporters the expanded sanctions were meant to show Iran that it has two choices: either isolation or suspension of all sensitive nuclear activities. His remarks were translated into Arabic, then English.

The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France - joined by Germany, met Friday for the fourth time this week to narrow differences over new sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment.

The proposals include a travel ban, an expanded list of people and companies subject to an asset freeze, an arms embargo and trade restrictions.

"We believe that unanimity is the key to effectiveness and resolve in this case," Douste-Blazy said before leaving to the United Arab Emirates.

Russia and China, which have strong trade ties with Iran, are pushing for a narrower list of targeted companies and individuals. The two countries have often been at odds with the United States, Britain, France and Germany over how tough to be on Iran.

The United States is pushing for cutbacks on loan guarantees for companies doing business in Iran, a key sticking point for China.

Kuwait's foreign minister said his country was worried that Iran, its neighbor across the Gulf, has become a state that challenges international legitimacy. Kuwait, like other Gulf states, is leery of the growing tensions between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes.

Asked about Saturday's conference on Iraq's stability in Baghdad, Douste-Blazy said Iraq should not become a closed field for regional disputes. He said the meeting should send a message of solidarity and hope to Iraqis.

The solution to the problem in Iraq is a political one and it should emanate from the Iraqis themselves, the French foreign minister said, adding it should involve all Iraqis and have the commitment of neighboring countries and the international community.

The gathering of Iraq's neighbors and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council is an effort to end Iraq's Sunni-Shiite violence and bolster its government.