US Indicates They are Willing to Discuss Iraq with Iran

Bush administration officials indicated the United States is willing to dicuss Iraq, and Iraq only, with officials from Iran.

Officials from the United States released a statement on Sunday, May 13, saying the Bush administration is willing talk with officials from Tehran because US officials feel Iran is undermining the Iraqi government by exporting roadside bombs to terrorists in Iraq.

A spokeswoman for Vice President Dick Cheney said the US is willing to listen to conversations limited to talks at the ambassador level. This statement was released after the Vice President met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said this willingness by the US to talk with Iran over security issues in Iraq is consistent with US policy and does not mean the US is taking a new position on talks with Iran.

The official news agency in Iran said the United States wants to meet with Iran in Baghdad to discuss security issues inside Iraq. Iran states this request from the US came through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. The Swiss Embassy usually acts as an intermediary for the U.S. in the Iran.

"Iran has agreed to this (negotiation) after consultation with Iraqi officials, in order to lessen the pain of the Iraqi people, support the Iraqi government and establish security and peace in Iraq," the state-run IRNA quoted Mohammad Ali Hosseini, the foreign ministry spokesman, as saying.

McBride said the comments appeared to refer to what the U.S. has called "the Baghdad channel ... our willingness to talk to the Iranians at the ambassador level about Iraq-specific issues."

However, Ms. McBride would not confirm if this request for talks was an official request from the US government.

Another White House spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, said you could expect a meeting within the next few weeks between the US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and the Iranians. Mr. Johndroe said this meeting will take place in Baghdad, and Mr. Johndroe went on to say the goal of this meeting is to get Iran to play a 'productive role' in Iraq.

While accompanying President Bush on a trip to help celebrate the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, Va., Mr. Johndroe further stated the so named "Baghdad channel" is something the US has been talking about for some time. However, Johndroe would not elaborate on whether the US actually requested to meet with officials from Iran.

Iraqi leaders have been pressuring the United States to meet with Iran because both Iran and the US hold the key to the fate of the Iraqi people.

Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq's foreign minister, told the Associated Press ( AP ) he expects these meetings will take place in the next couple of weeks. Mr. Zebari said Baghdad was chosen as the site for these meetings because it would allow "serious, quiet and focused discussions on the responsibilities and the obligations of all to help stabilize the situation in Iraq."

Mr. Zebari said he was pleased to hear Iran was willing to meet in Baghdad with US officials.

This development came at a time when Vice-President Cheney was in Egypt trying to persuade moderate Arab nations to show more support for the Iraqi government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Another goal of this meeting was to curtail Iran's growing influence throughout the Middle East.

Lower level Iranian and US officials held rare talks about Iraq in March. These talks were a lead up to an international conference on Iraq that was held in Egypt this month.

Speculation of a Cabinet-level meeting during this conference never took place because neither Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice nor Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki wanted to make the first move. Both of these diplomats passed on a chance for high-level, face-to-face talks between Iran and the United States since a break in relations caused by the 1979 hostage crisis.

The only direct U.S.-Iran contact came in a casual chat between the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and Iran's deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi.

Until this spring, the administration dismissed calls for an outreach to Iran and Syria; at the Egyptian conference, Rice did sit down for a talk with Syria's top diplomat.

Zebari said he could not rule out the possibility these talks will also involve the five Iranians currently being held by US forces in Iraq. The US military claims these Iranians are suspects in a link between terrorists in Iraq and weapons being smuggled into Iraq.

Cheney was in Egypt for a short round of talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak about the future of Iraq. President Mubarak is a key US ally in the Mid-East, and the Vic-President was trying to shore up support about the effectiveness of the U.S. military buildup in Iraq. There is growing concern in the Arab world about just how effective the US has been in Iraq.

After these talks with the Egyptian President, Cheney plans to go back to Jordan for more talks with Jordan's King Abdullah. This weeklong trip to the Mid-East by the Vice President will also involve visits to Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and to the carrier USS John C. Stennis in the Persian Gulf to rally troops.

The carrier USS John C. Stennis is currently about 150 miles off the coast of Iran. While on this carrier, the Vice-President issued a statement warning Iran that the US and their allies would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and dominating the Mid-East.

Tehran still insists their nuclear program is for peaceful purposed only, but Washington is still 'sticking by their guns' in saying Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons.

Iraqi foregin minister Zebari said the US is trying to create crisis, panic, fear and insecurity in the region by saying Iran is building nuclear weapons. Zebari said this 'fear-mongering' is something Iraq strongly opposes.

Iran's Defense Minister, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, was quoted as saying he warns Vice-President Cheney and other American leaders that any response by Iranian forces will be strong, swift and surprising. This statement came after he cautioned the US about use of military force against Iran.

Mr. Najajr also dismissed statements by Cheney as being those used for "psychological operations".

Read more about this possible meeting at Yahoo News