Manouchehr Mottaki would meet Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar late in the day to discuss the situation in the Middle East, a Malaysian foreign ministry source said.
“He is on the way. He is due to touch down at 1 p.m.,” said an official at the Iranian embassy, who asked not to be named.
Mottaki will be in Kuala Lumpur at the same time as Rice, who is coming to Malaysia straight from talks in Rome at which she blocked world powers from calling for an immediate ceasefire to fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas.
Rice blames Tehran and Damascus, Hizbollah’s main allies, for stoking the conflict. Neither Iran or Syria were invited to the Rome talks.
“This needs to be between Lebanon and Israel,” Rice told reporters en route from Rome to Malaysia.
In stark contrast to Rice, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Iran and Syria should be included in efforts to halt the war.
Mottaki’s trip came as a surprise to Malaysian officials.
Diplomatic sources said in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday that Malaysia might host an emergency summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference as early as next week to discuss the war.
