TEHRAN: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki left Tehran on Monday for an international conference in Kabul also being attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, reports said. State television's website reported that Mottaki is heading a high-ranking Iranian delegation to the conference. ISNA news agency said he would also meet with Afghan officials, including President Hamid Karzai. Kabul will host on Tuesday a major gathering of its international partners, including Clinton and 40 other foreign ministers. The Afghan government will use the conference to detail its plan to begin the transition from dependence on Western backers to running the war-ravaged country alone. Up to 70 international representatives are due to attend the conference, to be co-chaired by Karzai and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
