Posted on 12/30/2003 4:36:05 PM PST by Indy Pendance
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday it was willing to consider opening a dialogue with Iran, marking a possible shift in policy toward a country President Bush has branded part of an "axis of evil."
A senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the possibility of engaging Iran is something Bush has "on his plate" to consider, though he emphasized the administration would like to see Tehran first make some gesture toward the United States.
Washington severed formal ties with Iran in 1979 following the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, in an interview with The Washington Post, cited "encouraging" signs from Tehran recently that could pave the way for talks.
A potential turning point seemed to have come with an offer of humanitarian assistance to Iran after Friday's earthquake in the city of Bam. Tehran welcomed the assistance as it grappled with recovery from a quake that may have killed 50,000 people.
"The earthquake kind of brings it to a head," the official said, though he stressed that discussion on the stance toward Iran had already been taking place.
The earthquake aid was not motivated by politics, the official said. But it triggered discussion. "It got people thinking, 'You care about the Iranian people. Why don't you just start talking to their government?"
However, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said that while "there is no enmity between the people of Iran and the American nation," the earthquake aid would not alter the relations.
"I don't think this incident will change our relations with the United States," Khatami told a news conference.
Still, Tehran's acceptance of the U.S. aid was in contrast to its refusal to admit relief workers after a 1990 quake that also killed tens of thousands of people.
"There are things happening and therefore we should keep open the possibility of dialogue at an appropriate point in the future," Powell told The Washington Post.
"All of those things taken together show, it seems to me, a new attitude in Iran in dealing with these issues -- not one of total, open generosity. But they realize that the world is watching and the world is prepared to take action," he said.
The first U.S. military aircraft to land in Iran in more than 20 years arrived over the weekend carrying disaster response experts and tons of emergency supplies.
In a development that Washington cautiously welcomed, Iran agreed this month to surprise U.N. inspections of its nuclear facilities after signing on to a European-brokered deal.
SEEKING A GESTURE FROM IRAN
Adam Ereli, deputy spokesman at the State Department, also played down the notion that the comments from Powell and others marked an about-face from Washington.
"What I can say on the issue of dialogue is that we have always left open the option of engaging in dialogue with Iran at an appropriate time," Ereli said. "That hasn't changed."
White House spokesman Trent Duffy also insisted policy had not changed. "Our policy remains we're willing to engage with Iran on specific issues of mutual concern in an appropriate manner if and when the president decides it's in the interests of the United States to do so," Duffy told reporters in Crawford, Texas, where Bush is vacationing at his ranch.
The senior administration official said that tied to the U.S. willingness to talk was the hope that Iran would signal good faith addressing issues of concern to the United States.
Those issues include U.S. accusations of Iranian support for terrorist organizations and its contention that Tehran has been working in secret to develop nuclear weapons.
"We are willing to engage in an appropriate manner if and when the president decides it's appropriate," the official said. "It's certainly something the president has on his plate to consider."
Washington broke diplomatic ties after students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held 52 hostages for 444 days.
In January 2002, Bush turned up the heat on already tense relations when he labeled Iran part of an "axis of evil" along with prewar Iraq and North Korea.
Reuters. 'Nuff said.
Hmmm....one the same who held the anonymous DoD press briefing?
Is there an echo in here or is rooters tiresomly repetitive?
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