Italy has confirmed its invitation to Tehran to take part in a regional conference in Trieste on stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Friday.

Speaking to the press after the mid-year European Union summit here, Berlusconi added that the United States did not oppose the invitation and agreed that it was important to involve Afghanistan's neighbors in the stabilization process.

Berlusconi met with US President Barack Obama in Washington at the start of the week.

In regard to the protests in Iran following last weekend's presidential elections, the premier and foreign minister said there was total agreement in the EU against the use of violence by authorities there and the limitation on press freedom.

Italy has organised the conference in Trieste, June 25-27, in its role as the rotating president of the Group of Eight (G8).

Italy hopes Iran will be ready to cooperate in regulating borders, combating drug trafficking and reconstructing Afghanistan.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh said earlier this year that Tehran was ready to help the international community in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and in projects to combat drug trafficking.

Frattini was expected to visit Tehran before the meeting in Trieste, but observers said these plans may change depending on the post-election situation in Iran.

The Trieste meeting will be held on a foreign ministers' level and aside from the G8 will include the diplomatic chiefs from Afghanistan and Pakistan as well neighbors Iran, China and India.

In May, Frattini was forced to cancel a long-sought visit to Tehran after a last-minute Iranian venue change to a site where a new medium-range missile, capable of reaching Israel, had just been test-launched.

The European Union governments have avoided individual visits to Iran because of Tehran's refusal to halt its uranium-enrichment programme in line with United Nations resolutions.