US prepares to talk with Iran after 28 years of silence

Condoleezza Rice held out the prospect yesterday of direct talks with her Iranian counterpart this week in what would be America’s most significant contact with the Islamic republic since ties were severed almost 30 years ago.

The US Secretary of State was speaking shortly after Iran said that Manouchehr Mottaki, its Foreign Minister, would on Thursday attend talks in Egypt on the future of Iraq.

“I will not rule out that we may encounter one another,” Dr Rice said in a series of interviews with Sunday talk shows. “This isn’t an opportunity to talk about US-Iran issues. This is really an opportunity for all of Iraq’s neighbours to talk about how to stabilise Iraq.”

The State Department has been more forthcoming, saying that there is a strong likelihood of bilateral talks in Egypt.

Although Colin Powell, Dr Rice’s predecessor, found himself embarrassingly seated next to Iran’s Foreign Minister at a dinner in 2004, there has been no meaningful dialogue between the two nations since the US introduced sanctions after the storming and occupation of its embassy in Tehran by revolutionary students in November 1979. But President Bush has come under pressure to rekindle diplomacy from Democrats in Congress, the bi-partisan Iraq Study Group and allies such as Tonguy Bliar.