[n-tres-ted]

Any more info, comments on this report of negotiations in Washington?

[Ann Archy]

The Arabist State Dept. is setting up the deal to get Israel destroyed!

Has anyone noticed that the Generals and ALL the big critics of Bush are ALL anti-Israel types.....actually ALL on the left are anti-Israel types, even the Jews. PITIFUL.

[Old_Mil]

McCormack said Nahavandian had not been issued a visa but was in the United States legally. He did not elaborate but said only, "There are a variety of other ways for an individual to arrive in the country."

...don't we know it.

[eastforker]

Maybe Bush invited him to let Iran know how the cow eats the cabbage.

[Spruce]

Wonder if the white house has a wood shed.

[JackDanielsOldNo7]

probably here to talk to Exxon on getting a chunk of that 400 million dollar retirement package since his country is helping to drive oil prices through the roof.

[WesternPacific]

I believe the Japanese delegation was in town just prior to Pearl Harbor.

[carl in alaska]

I don't know what he's doing here, but direct talks by the US with Iran are a very bad idea. It's very likely Iran would just use direct talks as an opportunity to issue a stream of popaganda statments that would be widely distributed by the Treason Media. Direct talks would be just another stalling tactic by Iran while they continue work on Uranium enrichment.

I can visualize the stream of propaganda that Iran would feed to our Treason Media, all in an attempt to make Bush the issue rather than Iran's diabolical nuclear program: a steady stream of slick propaganda statements such as "we only want the peaceful use of nuclear energy which America wants to take from us", and "Bush and America are the agressors here who want to invade and occupy Iran just like Iraq", etc., etc. The Treason Media would of course just love all this BS and would then spew out this stream of Iranian propaganda as if it has the same high credibility as statements by the Bush Administration about Iran.

The administration is on the right track today and should stay on that track: reject all direct talks with Iran and just say that we're on the same page with the EU and direct negotations with the US would produce exactly the same results as negotations by Europe. Then add that the lack of negotiated results is entirely because Iran refuses to halt its uranium enrichment program, which is the key step towards the grave threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

[n-tres-ted]

In case you have views on this. Thanks.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Maybe he's meeting with Jay Rockefeller to find out what our plans are for Iran.

[robowombat]

This from the 'Financial Times (of London)'


Iran has prepared a high-level delegation to hold wide-ranging talks with the US, but the Bush administration is resisting the agenda suggested by Tehran despite pressure from European allies to engage the Islamic republic, Iranian politicians have told the Financial Times.

A senior Iranian official, Mohammad Nahavandian, has flown to Washington to “lobby” over the issue, aaccording to a top Iranian adviser outside the US. However, the Iranian mission to the United Nations insisted he was in Washington on private business.

Iran’s willingness to engage the US on Iraq, regional security and the nuclear issue, is believed to have the approval of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It represents the most serious attempt by the Islamic republic to reach out to the US since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

But the White House insisted on Thursday that its own offer of talks with Iran, extended several months ago by Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador to Baghdad, was limited to the subject of Iraq.
“There are none and none are scheduled,” Stephen Hadley, national security adviser, was quoted by a spokesman as saying about the prospect of talks with the Iranian delegation in Baghdad next week.

A senior Iranian adviser said the Iranian delegation was headed by Ali Hossein-Tash, the main deputy to Ali Larijani who is secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and the chief official dealing with the nuclear issue. Three other negotiators, all attached to the Council, include a deputy intelligence minister who was previously based in Baghdad, a former Revolutionary Guards member and Kurdish expert, and a political specialist.

Mr Nahavandian, a deputy for economic affairs to Mr Larijani, is in Washington, several Iranian sources told the FT, revealing the rare presence of a senior Iranian in the US capital. White House and State Department officials denied all knowledge of his presence.

The Bush administration is resisting pressure from its European allies to engage Iran directly over its alleged nuclear weapons programme rather than leave negotiations to the EU3 of France, Germany and the UK. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, raised this issue with Mr Hadley this week, and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, is understood to have spoken about it with President George W. Bush.

[varon]

McCormack said Nahavandian had not been issued a visa but was in the United States legally. He did not elaborate but said only, "There are a variety of other ways for an individual to arrive in the country."

The most effective way is to announce you're a hard working Mexican wishing to improve your family's standard of living and VOILA, you're in ;-)

[bert]

I think he was looking around on K Street for a site to open a new eatery.

[johnny7]

Is he meeting with Kerry?

[hschliemann]

Maybe he's looking for Shah.