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— WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday it would convene a meeting of Iraqis in the southern city of Nassiriya on Tuesday to discuss the future of Iraq and an eventual interim authority to govern the country.

"It will take place in Nassiriya next Tuesday the 15th," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters.

"We expect this to be the first in a series of regional meetings that will provide a forum for Iraqis to discuss their vision of the future and their ideas regarding the Iraqi interim authority," Boucher added.

"We hope these meetings will culminate in a nationwide conference that can be held in Baghdad in order to form the Iraqi interim authority."

Boucher said participants, invited by Gen. Tommy Franks -- the U.S. officer in charge of the war on Iraq -- would include "Iraqis from newly freed areas" of the country, members of the Iraqi opposition and Iraqis who took part in a long-running State Department project on the postwar future of Iraq.

The spokesman said White House envoy Zalmay Khalilzad would lead the U.S. delegation to the meeting.

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