Rice concluded her tour by meeting the foreign ministers of the "GCC+2" group of US allies -- the six members of Gulf Cooperation Council with Egypt and Jordan -- who called on Iraq's neighbours to respect its sovereignty.

"With respect to US policy towards Iran... the US and the Gulf (States) expressed in (a) joint communique that we call to all countries to refrain from interfering in Iraqi internal affairs," Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah told a joint news conference with Rice after Tuesday's talks.

"That is something that we are all concerned about. We would like the neighbouring countries to work together for peace and stability in Iraq," he said.

The joint communique did not mention Iran by name, but said that relations among countries "should be based on mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, and on the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations."

The two sides said they wanted to prevent Iraq "becoming a battleground for regional and international powers," which could also refer to Syria which has been repeatedly accused by the Washington of fuelling Iraq's insurgency.

Rice held brief talks with her Kuwaiti counterpart on Wednesday before she was due to leave the emirate.

The US secretary of state was on a regional tour aimed at drumming up support for President George W Bush's "surge" strategy to tackle violence in Iraq by deploying an additional 21,500 troops there.

She was also seeking financial aid from the oil-rich Gulf countries for the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, chiefly by writing off debts.