UNITED STATES: Talks with Iran on Iraq?
published: Friday | March 17, 2006

WASHINGTON (Reuters):

THE WHITE HOUSE said yesterday that the United States is open to holding talks with Iran about stabilising Iraq after the Islamic republic responded to prior offers from Washington for a dialogue.

But White House spokesman Scott McClellan noted that any such talks would be confined to the Iraq issue and would be on a separate track from efforts to resolve the nuclear stand-off with Iran. In November, President George W. Bush authorised his ambassador in Iraq to have talks with Iran in what would be unusual contact between two long-standing foes who are locked in a stand-off over Tehran's nuclear programmes.