Iran rules out Rice 'dialogue' at Iraq conference

Middle East Times ^ | May 1, 2007 | By Stuart Williams

[Fred]

Iran Tuesday ruled out engaging in a "dialogue" with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a conference on Iraq's security this week, saying that the time was not right for negotiations.

Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki is to attend the May 3 to 4 conference in Egypt alongside Rice, raising expectations that the two could meet in the highest-level bilateral talks between the two foes since 1980.

But asked whether the two would hold talks at the Sharm El Sheikh meeting, deputy foreign minister Mehdi Mostafavi replied: "For the moment the conditions do not exist for such a dialogue.

"The United States cannot have this hostile attitude and say on the other hand that they are favorable to negotiations," he told the ISNA news agency.

Government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham said: "The question of negotiations with the United States is not serious.

"So long as the United States does not renounce its attitude and oppressive and satanic vision, the problems will not be solved," he added, according to the Mehr news agency.

Iran had initially shown reluctance to even take part in the conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh, saying that it was unhappy that world powers like the United States were taking part alongside Iraq's neighbors.

However, its decision this week to send Mottaki immediately sparked speculation that the foreign minister could hold landmark talks with Rice. Washington also refused to rule out such an encounter.

The latest comments by Iranian officials appear to indicate that Tehran is not interested in substantive one-on-one talks with Rice at the summit while still leaving the door open for more informal contact.

Verbal exchanges between the two foes, who have had no diplomatic ties since 1980, remain distinctly frosty, with Washington accusing Tehran of aiding insurgents in Iraq and seeking nuclear weapons. Iran denies both charges.

Washington cut ties with Iran in 1980 after radical students stormed the US embassy in Tehran in late 1979 and held staff hostage for 444 days. Ties have remained frozen ever since.

Channels of communication have been opened sporadically since then, most notably when the United States and Iran cooperated after the overthrow of Afghanistan's Taliban rulers.

The United States has said that it is only prepared to have full negotiations with Iran if Tehran suspends uranium enrichment, something that Tehran has refused to do. Iran says that it is ready for talks but without preconditions.

"The United States cannot one day vote a budget to take actions against Iran, to threaten us militarily, and then say that they want to negotiate with us. They need to show they want logical and just relations," said Mostafavi. "The objective is not to just have a dialogue. The objective is to have healthy relations between the two countries and for that the conditions need to be created," he added.

US President George W. Bush said that Rice would be "polite but firm" if she encounters Mottaki at the conference but warned against expecting any breakthrough between the two foes.

If Mottaki and Rice meet, it will be the first such contact since then Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharazi and US secretary of state Colin Powell were seated next to each other by their Egyptian hosts at dinner at a similar Iraq conference in November 2004.

"We can have discussions, just as [President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad said he was ready to have a televised debate with Bush," Mostafavi said, referring to an offer that was rejected by the White House last year.

[3AngelaD]

Yeah. The “time was not right for negotiations,” because they haven’t put the finishing touches on their nukes yet.

[SolidWood]

Maybe the Dems and the Iraq Surrender group now will shut up. The Iranians rejected talks. PERIOD. No more diplomacy. Give em bombs.

[rhombus]

Hold on one second here... don’t they know that they should be talking to their enemies? The defeatocrats say so.

[untrained skeptic]

Maybe the Dems and the Iraq Surrender group now will shut up. The Iranians rejected talks. PERIOD. No more diplomacy. Give em bombs.

No one believes anything that comes out of Ahmadinejad's mouth.

The Dems and the UN are used to political leaders saying one thing in public and another thing in private.

While Ahmadinejad is telling the world that he won't talk to the US, some of his underlings are likely saying that Rice is refusing to talk to him. Others are likely telling "diplomats" that they are trying to work out some talks behind the scenes.

They will believe what they want to believe.

[stockpirate]

The comment made the other day alloed the administration to get a slap down from Iran.

New Tone.

[tflabo]

Probably a conflict of schedule.. Madame San Nan Pealowzy is on the calendar meetings list instead for the monkey man of Iran to surrender...errr negotiate with...

[Fred]

Forty-nine countries confirm Iraq conference attendance

"Also included are the five permanent UN Security Council members plus representatives from the United Nations, the European Union, Canada, Germany and Japan."

[Centurion2000]

Iran Tuesday ruled out engaging in a "dialogue" with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a conference on Iraq's security this week, saying that the time was not right for negotiations.

War is diplomacy by other means .... talking has failed ... so the next logical step is right in front of them.

[Fred]

Bush sees 'test' for Iran, Syria

"US President George W. Bush said Tuesday that a conference this week on Iraq's security will be "an important test" of whether Iran and Syria truly want to help their war-torn neighbor. "Iran and Syria have been invited to attend. This will be an important test of whether these regimes are truly interested in playing a constructive role in Iraq," "

[BenLurkin]

"So long as the United States does not renounce its attitude and oppressive and satanic vision..."

Sheesh.

[Diogenesis]

HOW MANY MORE MUST DIE?

Full list is pages and pages and pages and pages.

1968 Robert Kennedy assassinated
1972 Munich Olympics Sep-5,1972 (Black September)
1976 Entebbe Hostage Crisis, June 27, 1976
1979 Iran Hostage Crisis, Nov. 4, 1979 444 days
1979 Grand Mosque Seizure, Nov 20,1979
1981 Assassination of Egyptian President, Oct 6,1981
1982 Assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister, Sept 14, 1982
1983 Bombing of US Embassy in Beirut6, April 18,1983
1983 Bombing of Maring Barricks, Beruit, Oct 23,1983
1984 Hizballah Restaurant Bombing, April 12,1984
1985 Egyptian Airliner Hijacking, Nov 23,1985
1985 Rome Airport murders
1985 TWA Flight 847 hijacked, U.S. Navy diver murdered
1985 Achille Lauro hijacking, Homacidal maniac lived in saddams Iraq
1986 Aircraft Bombing in Greece, March 30, 1986
1988 Pan Am 747 Flight 103 Bombing, Lockerbie, 100's murdered
1988 Berlin Discoteque Bombing, Dec 21,1988
1992 Bombing in Israeli Embassy in Argentina, March 17,1992
1993 Attempted Assassination of Pres. Bush Sr., April 14,1993
1993 First World Trade Center bombing, February 26th, 7 Killed, Hundreds injured, Billions
1994 Air France Hijacking, Dec 24,1994
1995 Attack on US Diplomats in Pakistan, Mar 8,1995
1995 Military Installation Attack, Nov 13, 1995
1995 Kashmiri Hostage taking, July 4,1995
1996 Khobar Towers attack
1996 Sudanese Missionarys Kidnapping, Aug 17,1996
1996 Paris Subway Explosion, Dec 3,1996
1997 Israeli Shopping Mall Bombing, Sept 4, 1997
1997 Yemeni Kidnappings, Oct 30,1997
1998 Somali Hostage taking crisis, April 15,1998
1998 U.S. Embassy Bombing in Peru, Jan 15, 1998
1998 U.S. Kenya Embassy blown up, 100's murdered
1998 U.S. Tanzania Embassy blown up, 100's murdered
1999 Plot to blow up Space Needle (thwarted)
2000 USS Cole attacked, many U.S. Navy sailors murdered
2000-2003 Intifada against Israel - 100's dead and injured
2000 Manila Bombing, Dec 30,2000
2001 4 Commercial airliners hijacked, 250+ murdered
2001 World Trade Center attacked, 2800+ murdered
2001 Flight 93 murders
2001 Pentagon attacked, 180+ murdered
2002 Reporter Daniel Pearl, kidnapped and murdered
2002 Philippines American missionary, Filipino nurse killed
2002 July 4, El Al attack Los Angeles LAX, several murdered
2002 Bali bombing - 200 dead, 300 injured
2002 Yemen, French Oil Tanker attacked
2002 Marines attacked / murdered in Kuwait
2002 Washington D.C. sniper
2002 Russian Theater attacked, 100+ dead
2002 Nigerian riots against Miss World Pageant, 200 dead, dozens injured
2002 Mombasa Hotel Attacked, 12 dead, dozens injured
2002 Israeli Boeing 757 attacked by missiles, fortunately no one injured
2002 August Hotel bombing in Jakarta, Indonesia. 12 dead, dozens injured.
2003 Rusian concert bombing
2003 Phillipines airport and market bombing
2003 Foiled SAM plot in the USA
2003 UN Baghdad HQ Bombing
on and on and on and on their terrorism has gone .........

[Wiseghy]

This “reporting” is baloney.

There are lots of back channel conversations going on at the moment, mostly involving negotations over the various Iraq terror groups being manipulated by the nearby out of state actors. Oddly, Sunni’s and the Arab states are coming around the US position. Everyone’s pretending Iran is a player, when they’re really not. Iraqi shiites hate Persians.

In the end, no one controls or can really speak for the fighters in Iraq. That’s why the Dem chatter about “solving this diplomatically” is so completely laughable and tragically, pathetically naive.

We need to provide enough security for the Iraqi’s to strengthen their central state long enough to take control. State failure in Iraq is currently up to the US, more than the Iraqi’s. Already, however, the US is being dealt out of the long term hands. The Iraqi’s will pay the price for that in the short run, and we will pay in the long run when our cities become the battlegrounds.

[Enduring Freedom]

new tone and condi are by far the most naive people in the country

tone deaf, pious, wimp, fools

[wildbill]

But...But...the non=partisan Iraq Commission said all we had to do was talk to our enemies.

And the Dems say the same thing. Bush and Rice must sit down with them and talk with them because the Iranians are reasonable men.

[sarcasm/]