BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister called on Britain on Friday to pull its troops out of the southern Iraqi city of Basra, saying their presence was destabilizing the city.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran demands the immediate withdrawal of British forces from Basra," Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters through an interpreter during a visit to Lebanon.

"We believe that the presence of the British military forces in Basra has led to the destabilization of the security situation in the city," he said, adding that the British presence had also negatively affected the security situation in southern Iran itself.

Mottaki was apparently referring to a spate of recent bomb attacks in southern Iran. Tehran has accused the British military in Iraq of cooperating with the bombers who killed eight people in attacks in January.

The minister also denounced what he said were human rights violations by the British forces in Basra.

Iran last month accused the British military in Iraq of cooperating with bombers who attacked targets in the Iranian oil city of Ahvaz, killing eight people.

BERLIN, Germany (AP) - Chancellor Angela Merkel was to meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair here Friday for talks that were expected to focus on Iran and the situation in the Middle East.

It will be the second meeting of the two leaders since Merkel came to power in November, in a sign that Germany is seeking to improve relations with the British which were strained under her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, over his opposition to the Iraq war.

Britain, Germany and France led months of talks with Tehran in an effort to guarantee Iran's nuclear program remained peaceful.

The negotiations collapsed last month when Iran said it was resuming its uranium enrichment program, and the Europeans joined the United States in a successful effort to get the issue referred to the U.N. Security Council.

After Berlin, Blair will travel Friday to Budapest, Hungary, where he planned to meet Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany.