Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Governments across the Middle East and beyond have been alarmed at the speed with which Sunni militants drove Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's troops out of large parts of north and west Iraq and pushed towards the capital.

The United States is sending 300 military advisers to Iraq, prompting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to accuse Washington of trying to regain control of the country it once occupied and rule "by its stooges" - a charge Kerry denied.

"The United States is not engaged in picking or choosing or advocating for any one individual, or series of individuals, to assume the leadership of Iraq," he said. "That is up to the Iraqi people and we have made that clear since day one."

However he said the U.S. noted dissatisfaction with Maliki's leadership by Kurds, Sunnis and some Shi'ites and wanted Iraqis to find a leadership "prepared to be inclusive and share power". At a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri, Kerry also defended U.S. involvement in the Middle East when asked whether U.S policy had caused recent violence in Iraq and Libya. "What is happening in Iraq is not happening because of the United States in terms of the current crisis. The United States shed blood and worked hard for years to provide Iraqis the opportunity to have their own governments."

Kerry, who is expected to travel to Iraq soon at the request of President Barack Obama, will also discuss possible oil disruptions from the Iraq conflict with Gulf oil producers this week, a senior State Department official said.

"Egypt and the United States share the deep worries about the ongoing situation in Iraq and it is important that the two countries and their Gulf partners coordinate to face the challenges and risks," Shukri said.