Iraq's Prime Minister Iyad Allawi had already said Iraq did not want peace-keeping soldiers from neighboring countries.

"It is up to each country to determine what it can do but the fact that Iraq's neighbors are moving in this direction is certainly something that is positive," said US State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli.

Asked about the possibility of sending Jordanian troops to help bolster security in Iraq, King Abdullah told the BBC Thursday: "If the Iraqis ask us for help directly it will be very difficult for us to say no."

Yemen reportedly said Friday that it was willing to send peacekeepers to Iraq, but only if they were part of a UN-controlled force.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher clarified later that comments by King Abdullah are a message of support for Baghdad rather than an announcement of future deployment.

Jordan, which shares a border with western Iraq, is one of the United States's closest allies in the Arab world.

Ereli said he did see a conflict of interest for Arab states to send troops to Iraq if they met the objectives and wishes of the interim government.

"I am not saying that this is going to happen," he said.

"But the guiding principle for us in Iraq is we are committed to supporting the Iraqi government in taking the steps and developing the capabilities to meet the needs and goals of the Iraqi government in the realm of security, economic reconstruction and political development," he said.

Iraqi officials last fall lobbied to prevent the former US-led occupation administration from inviting Turkish troops who have clashed with the region's Kurdish minority.

WAR.WIRE