US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday she would press Iraq’s Arab neighbors hard next week to do more to support Baghdad’s government and shield it from Iran’s “nefarious influences,” the Reuters reported.

Rice, set to attend a conference of Iraq’s neighbors in Kuwait on April 22, said her message would be for Arab states to fulfill their promises to increase diplomatic, economic, social and cultural ties with Baghdad’s government.

“What Iraq now needs most and what I will push for in Kuwait is greater support from its neighbors,” Rice said.

Rice said Iran must stop its “malign actions” in Iraq, where Washington says Tehran has stoked violence and was behind the latest fighting in the southern city of Basra.

Rice said she did not intend to have talks with her Iranian counterpart to discuss security issues in Iraq.