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Iran for the first time joined a U.S.- and NATO-dominated coordinating group on Afghanistan on Monday, sending mid-level officials to participate in discussions on coalition military and political strategy that included a closed-door report by General David H. Petraeus.

Iran's presence, along with representatives from nearly a dozen other Muslim countries as well as the Organization of the Islamic Conference, "clearly shows this is not a Western or a NATO effort," said Michael Steiner, Germany's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who chaired the meeting. "It transcends geographic, religious and alliance boundaries."