GENEVA, Dec 13: The World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed on Monday to begin accession talks with Iraq and Afghanistan, but the United States again blocked any such negotiations with Iran, diplomats said.

The go-ahead for Iraq and Afghanistan came with no dissenting voice among the trade body's 148 member states, but Washington said it was still studying Iran's request - the same answer it has given for the past three years.

"They have approved Iraq and Afghanistan, but, as it has always been, there was no consensus on Iran," said one diplomat about the deliberations of the WTO's executive General Council, where all decisions must be unanimous.

But while the door to the WTO is open for Kabul and Baghdad, entering the Geneva-based organisation can be a lengthy process, with Russia and Saudi Arabia still in talks after a decade.

The decision puts the US-installed administration in Baghdad on a level with more than two dozen other nations who want to join or are in the process of doing so. But actual negotiations with Iraq, which has the world's second largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia, are unlikely to start before elections there, which are due to be held in late January - violence permitting.

"The new Iraq looks with great optimism at achieving political stability, economic prosperity and social development," Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammed al-Jibouri told the closed-door council meeting.

"Our re-integration into the world trading system is an essential element to fulfil those aims," he added. Being in the WTO guarantees that a country's goods receive equal treatment in the markets of other member states. Many new members - China being a recent example - have reaped huge economic benefit from belonging to the club.

DOUBLE STANDARDS: Washington has extensive sanctions in force against Iran, which it accuses of wanting to develop a nuclear weapons programme and of supporting terrorist groups.