Arab leaders were deeply sceptical today of the US plan for Iraq, a day after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tried to sell it to them.

Kuwait’s emir told the US secretary of state that Washington should talk to Syria and Iran to improve the situation in Iraq, the Kuwaiti foreign minister said today.

Arab Gulf nations plan to send an envoy to Iran to press it to find a negotiated solution to its nuclear stand-off with the United Nations in a new diplomatic effort after months of staying on the sidelines, officials said today.