A top Iranian official said on Wednesday that his country was considering an invitation from Baghdad to join an international conference of Iraqi neighbors, which Washington also intends to attend, the state television reported.

"We are examining the proposal, and we will join the conference if it is expedient since we support solving problems of Iraq by all means," Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani was quoted as saying.

According to the official, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had been contacted by his Iraqi counterpart on the conference issue.

"Iraq's neighboring countries must help settle the problem because they are related to Iraq's security situation," Larijani said, while revealing Tehran's consideration of the Baghdad offer.

He, however, failed to disclose what level delegate Iran would send if it decide to attend the meeting.

Larijani also suggested it would be ok for Iran if the United States attend the conference by saying "one cannot commit suicide because one is afraid of death", meaning Tehran should not hurt itself just to avoid possible negative results over attendance of America.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared Tuesday that the country would join the mid-March meeting organized by the Iraqi government, saying she supported Iraq's decision to invite Iran and Syria also.

Washington's new position was considered by international media as a huge diplomatic turnabout since the Bush administration refused direct dialogue with Tehran over the Iraqi issue for several months.

The United States has persistently accused Iran of supporting Iraqi insurgents to fight with coalition forces since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, but Tehran has denied it by saying such allegations were deliberate intervention to the Iran-Iraq ties by the U.S.

Due to Iran's what Americans called "bad role" in the war-torn Iraq, a number of Iranians in Iraq have been arrested and the U.S. also increasingly started to build up its military power in the Gulf region.

Editor: Donald