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Iranian, U.S. Diplomats Meet Briefly

Three-minute discussion focuses on Iraq, hints at Bush administration policy shift

By M. Morris,  Newser Staff

Posted May 4, 2007 2:49 PM CDT

(Newser) – It didn't involve the American Secretary of State or the Iranian foreign minister, but a brief meeting of high-level diplomats today in Egypt signals a thaw in relations between the countries, the International Herald Tribune reports. U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said the three-minute conversation concerned the situation in Iraq.

Crocker and a senior adviser to Condoleezza Rice met with an Iranian deputy foreign minister at the regional summit that concluded today. Rice said afterward, "We have no desire to have difficult relations with anyone in Iran." She conferred with the Syrian foreign minister on Thursday, another sign of Washington's shifting stance on Middle East relations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice seen during a meeting at an international conference on Iraq at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, Friday, May 4, 2007. (AP Photo)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice seen during a meeting at an international conference on Iraq at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, Friday,...   (Associated Press)
Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, adjusts his translation device during a press conference following the Expanded Ministerial Conference for the Neighbors of Iraq at the second day sessions at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt Friday, May 4, 2007. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, adjusts his translation device during a press conference following the Expanded Ministerial Conference for the Neighbors of Iraq at the second day sessions...   (Associated Press)
General view of the Expanded Ministerial Conference for the Neighbors of Iraq on the second day session of the Iraq conference at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt Friday, May 4, 2007. Iraq's neighbors negotiated a declaration Friday that would pledge support for Iraq's embattled Shiite-led government in...
General view of the Expanded Ministerial Conference for the Neighbors of Iraq on the second day session of the Iraq conference at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt Friday, May 4, 2007. Iraq's...   (Associated Press)
In this photo provided by the United Nations, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, center, attends Expanded Ministerial Conference for the Neighbors of Iraq on the second day session of the Iraq conference at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, Friday, May 4, 2007. (AP Photo/UN, Photo, Mark Garten)
In this photo provided by the United Nations, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, center, attends Expanded Ministerial Conference for the Neighbors of Iraq on the second day session of the Iraq conference...   (Associated Press)
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Iraq • Iran • Bush administration • Middle East • Syria • Condoleezza Rice • Ryan Crocker • United States • Egypt

 
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