In a sign of the new emphasis on diplomacy, the Obama administration said Thursday that Iran would be invited to a high-level conference on Afghanistan''s future.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton proposed the session, which could be held at the end of this month, at the same time the Obama administration is reformulating its strategy in a stalemated Afghanistan war.

The new approach is expected to emphasize nonmilitary means of blunting the power of the Taliban and other insurgents and to sharpen the focus on the role of next-door Pakistan in lessening the threat of terrorism or extremism in both countries.

"The whole question about Afghanistan and Pakistan is one that we''ve given a great deal of thought to," Clinton said. "It is clear that the border areas between the two countries are the real locus of a lot of the extremist activity. It''s becoming obvious that Pakistan faces very serious internal threats, and that Afghanistan faces continuing external threats that emanate out of Pakistan."