(AFP) Malaysia and Iran today called jointly for an immediate end to the US-led bombing in Afghanistan, an official said.

The two countries reached the common position in hour-long talks between Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar and his visiting Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharazi.

"Malaysia and Iran agreed to fight international terrorism but they opposed the US bombing of Afghanistan," Mustapha Ahmad, spokesman for Syed Hamid, told AFP .

Mustapha said the foreign ministers agreed that the bombings were taking a severe toll of lives and causing misery to millions of Afghans.

Kharazi said the issue of terrorism was complicated and a resolution could only be found after international problems, especially the Palestinian question, had been addressed.

"Terrorism and the problem of dealing with terrorism is a very complicated issue and the root causes of the problems must be recognised," he said, according to Bernama news agency.

"We must look how the United States conducts itself in West Asia," he was quoted as saying.

"The West Asian problems must be resolved and the full rights of the Palestinians must be restored. The US cannot attack a Muslim country on the pretext of terrorism."

Representatives from all groups

The Iranian minister said a post-Taliban government in Afghanistan should include representatives of all ethnic groups and should be managed by the United Nations.

Syed Hamid said Iran and Malaysia shared a common view against terrorism and agreed that war alone would not put an end to the problem.

"Anything done in Afghanistan must satisfy the people of that country," he said.

Malaysia and Iran are members of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference which, at a meeting early October in Qatar, called on the United Nations to convene a conference on terrorism.

Kharazi is on a one-day visit to Malaysia as part of a three-nation Asian tour which will also take him to Indonesia and Japan. Iran traditionally has good relations with the three countries.

Tehran and Kuala Lumpur have both previously condemned the September 11 terror attacks on the United States, as well as the US strikes on Afghanistan.

Iran, which has a 900-kilometre border with Afghanistan, says it wants the United Nations to lead the international campaign against terrorism.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said the US-led retaliation in Afghanistan will kill innocent people without stamping out terrorism.