FACTBOX: Iran's interests and influence in Iraq

(Reuters) - Iran and Iraq's other neighboring countries meet in Kuwait on Tuesday to discuss Iraqi security and other issues.

Following are what Iranian, U.S. and Iraqi officials say about Iran's interests and role in Iraq, as well as analysts views on Tehran's aims:

WHAT DOES IRAN SAY ABOUT IRAQ?

-- Iranian officials have called for the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign troops, who they blame for destabilizing Iraq.

-- Iran regularly voices support for the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who like most Iranians is a Shi'ite Muslim. Tehran says it is ready to help restore stability in Iraq, with which Iran fought a war in the 1980s.

WHAT DO U.S. AND IRAQI OFFICIALS SAY ABOUT IRAN?

-- U.S. officials accuse Iran of funding, training and arming Iraqi militias. They say such operations are led by Iran's Qods force, a wing of the Islamic Republic's ideological Revolutionary Guards. Iran denies the charges.

-- Iraqi officials have urged Iran and its arch-foe, the United States, not to fight a proxy war on Iraqi territory.

WHAT ARE ANALYSTS' VIEWS ABOUT IRAN'S AIMS?

-- Analysts say Iran does not want Iraq to descend into chaos nor does it want U.S. forces to have an easy ride, which might give Washington ideas about military options against Iran.

-- "They don't want (Iraq) to get out of control nor do they want it to be too comfortable for the (U.S.-led) coalition," said Iranian analyst Baqer Moin.

-- Tehran is embroiled in a row over its nuclear program, which Washington says is a covert bid to make nuclear warheads, a charge Tehran denies. Although U.S. officials say they want a diplomatic solution they have not ruled military action.

-- Analysts say Tehran wants a friendly Shi'ite-led government in power in Iraq but is also keen to ensure Shi'ite factions jostling for power rely on their neighbor as a broker, thus cementing Iran's influence.

-- One example of how Iran has wielded its influence was by helping calm fighting that raged in recent weeks between the Mehdi Army militia loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Sadr and Maliki's government forces, analysts say.

-- "They definitely do not want to see the Maliki government fall that's why they negotiated the ceasefire ... but they don't want a complete area of stability and democracy in Iraq either because that would be a dangerous model," a Western diplomat said.

WHAT ARE IRAN'S OFFICIAL TIES WITH BAGHDAD AND WASHINGTON?

-- Tehran has not had diplomatic ties with Washington since shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution toppled Iran's U.S.-backed Shah. But officials from both countries held three rounds of talks last year in Baghdad on Iraqi security. A fourth meeting has been delayed.

-- Iran, unlike Arab states, has an embassy in Baghdad and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad staged a high-profile official visit in March.

-- Iraqi officials, including Maliki, have visited Iran where some leading Iraqi opposition figures lived in exile during the rule of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

(Writing by Edmund Blair in Tehran; Editing by Samia Nakhoul)