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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran-US talks end without breakthrough |
| 2007-05-29 |
| Iran and the United States on Monday held their first formal talks in almost three decades, with a four-hour meeting in Baghdad that focused on security issues in Iraq termed as positive but failing to provide any concrete breakthrough. Washington’s ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, who headed the US delegation, said following the discussions that the Iranian side did not respond to some of the raised issues, chief among them the US call that Teheran halt its alleged support to armed militias in Iraq. Crocker described the discussions as generally ‘positive’ but added that the US diplomats told the Iranians they were highly concerned about findings of Iranian-marked weapons that reached Iraq lately, and about the Iranian activities in Iraq - chief among them, Teheran’s alleged support of armed militias. He said that all sides agreed that the stability of Iraq was a priority. However, he noted that some of Iran’s suggestions did not possess the qualities or the conditions insisted by the US side as prerequisites to their discussions. He also added that there were arguments regarding some of the security issues, and regarding Iranian policies in Iraq. The dialogue between the two parties did not side-track to other issues. Crocker said. Neither the Iranian nuclear programme or the cases of seven Iranian detainees held by the US military were discussed. Iranian officials said their side was concerned about increasing pressure from the US and accusations that the Shia Islamic state was responsible for sectarian-driven violence in Iraq. Before the meeting, Iranian officials had said that Iran believed the US forces were responsible for breeding violence. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki earlier told the press that his country’s representatives would explain to the US the mistakes they had made in Iraq. However Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki had prior to the meeting rejected any expectation by Iran that a timetable for US withdrawal would be implemented. Crocker, following the meeting, commented only by saying that no calendar was set for US withdrawal. The discussions took place in Al Maliki’s residence in Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone. The US and Iranian delegations were headed by the two country’s ambassadors to Iraq, Crocker and Hassan Kazemi Qumi. Senior Iraqi diplomats and Foreign Affairs Ministry officials were also in attendance. Qumi, who represented Iran at the meeting, is reportedly a Quds Force officer. The Quds Force is a special unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that have recently been accused by the US of supporting Shia death squads in Iraq. The discussions were earlier in the day welcomed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki as a result of ‘positive conditions.’ Crocker, following the meeting, confirmed that the Iraqi participatns contributed effectively, and that generally the Iraqi side moderated the dialogue. Despite the enthusiasm that preceded the meeting, observers said that there was little that Monday’s dialogue will pave the way for more direct Washington-Teheran discussions, especially as unresolved issues had reportedly remained as such. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #2 OK, so we tried talking with them. Can we bomb them now? |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2007-05-29 14:58 |
| #1 Here, Pappy. I'm done using it for now. |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-05-29 00:25 |