Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

US may use Iraq meet to engage Iran

Another official also suggested a US-Iran contact was possible.

The United States has not had formal diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic since the 1980 hostage crisis and only intermittent contacts since then.

This change in U.S. policy if it comes to pass could be the product of Iran’s nuclear program and the quagmire that has stuck us in Iraq but more recently and perhaps the bigger reason is the new Iran/China alliance which has rocked the geopolitical boat.

This is in reference to the signing of a mega-gas deal between Beijing and Tehran worth $100 billion. Billed as the "deal of century" by various commentators, this agreement is likely to increase by another $50 billion to $100 billion, bringing the total close to $200 billion, when a similar oil agreement, currently being negotiated, is inked not too far from now.

Note: Israel has in fact found itself increasingly surrounded by China’s influence.
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-Am

US may use Iraq meet to engage Iran

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Colin Powell may use a conference on Iraq later this month as an opportunity to engage directly with Iran, officials said on Friday, despite a looming nuclear crisis.

While insisting “nothing at this moment is planned,” one senior official told Reuters “there may be opportunities” for Powell to speak about US concerns “more directly” than just in the conference’s general meeting, set for Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt’s Red sea resort, on Nov. 22 and 23.

Another official also suggested a US-Iran contact was possible. “Stay tuned. The secretary will be there and Iran will be there,” he said, declining to be more specific.

The United States has not had formal diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic since the 1980 hostage crisis and only intermittent contacts since then, despite Tehran’s growing ability to thwart some of President George W. Bush’s major objectives, like stability in Iraq.

Bush has been under pressure from many in the US foreign policy establishment to begin a dialogue with Tehran but his administration has been divided over whether and to what degree the United States might reach out. US officials said that debate continued and they indicated any gesture by Powell would be modest.

The administration has refused to participate in European negotiations that aim to persuade Tehran to abandon a nuclear program that Washington insists is aimed at producing weapons.

Iraq’s neighbors, the United Nations, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Group of Eight leading industrialized countries are expected at this month’s conference. reuters

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_14-11-2004_pg4_16