Posted on 02/28/2007 6:32:13 PM PST by blam
Iran stalls over attending Iraq conference
By Alex Spillius and Damien McElroy in Baghdad
Last Updated: 2:10am GMT 01/03/2007
Iran refused to give an undertaking yesterday to attend a planned major conference on Iraq's future, after being caught off guard by Washington's enthusiastic endorsement of the meeting.
Ali Larijani gave the invitation a guarded welcome
The Iraqi foreign ministry set a date of March 10 for the gathering, to which it has invited eight Middle Eastern neighbours and all the G8 powers.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said that it was probable that Dominic Asquith, the British ambassador to Iraq, would attend. "The aim is for neighbours to take a more positive role in Iraq's future," he said.
America's willingness, expressed by Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, to share a table with Iran and Syria, which it accuses of aiding the insurgency inside Iraq, marked a major shift in US policy.
Syria has accepted the invitation with a foreign ministry official in Damascus recognising America's desire for talks with Syria as "a partial step in the right direction".
Despite its hesitation yesterday, Iran would be embarrassed if it failed to attend.
But Ali Larijani, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, gave only a guarded welcome to the invitation.
He said: "We will participate in this meeting if it is in Iraq's interest. We will do what we can do to resolve Iraq's problems."
Given Iran's influence and involvement in Iraq, its absence would severely damage the credibility of the meeting, which is designed to lead to a ministerial gathering a few weeks later.
However, Mr Larijani suggested America's presence at the meeting of ambassadors and senior foreign officials was not an insurmountable obstacle to Iran's attendance.
Diplomats in Baghdad said the meeting would seek to stop infiltration by jihadist groups from surrounding countries, close training camps for insurgents outside Iraq and control weapons' smuggling.
Regional governments would also be asked for financial assistance to help rebuild the country, which is being torn apart by sectarian violence in its centre and a violent insurgency in the west. Iran has said that it was willing to meet the US to discuss how to calm the violence in Iraq, but tensions have recently increased dramatically between the two countries.
America has repeated its accusations that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and is leading an international campaign to force Teheran to stop its nuclear work.
US troops last month seized five Iranians in northern Iraq suspected of colluding with insurgents, while the US naval presence in the Gulf has been considerably beefed up.
Washington cut diplomatic relations with Teheran in 1980 after the seizure of its embassy by Islamic students, and any official contact between the two sides would mark a significant breakthrough.
Their last diplomatic encounter was in late 2004 during a meeting of 20 nations on Iraq in the Egyptian resort Sharm el-Sheik.
The then US secretary of state Colin Powell and his Iranian counterpart were forced to sit side by side at dinner by their hosts, and were a study in polite conversation.
The U.S. called their bluff, and Iran hesitated.
That's to be expected. Iran has backed out of several such offers for negotiations.
Iran has also shown us on quite a number of occasions and in many ways that she is our enemy. So if Iranian leaders do show for negotiations, they should be captured as PWs.
"Given Iran's influence and involvement in Iraq, its absence would severely damage the credibility of the meeting, which is designed to lead to a ministerial gathering a few weeks later."
What a stupid comment. The credibility loser would be the Iranian Govt, and the "influence and involvement" of Iran in Iraq is a hugely negative one.
Baker, Biden and Jon Carry are gonna be upset...
Our leftists are gonna be losers too....
One good outcome from this meeting is that Chris Mathews and all the other blathering media scoundrels will no longer harp incessantly about how Bush the Cowboy refuses to meet and negotiate with Iran and Syria.
Thanks for the clarifying news. I posted that behind the following link, after you brought it to our attention.
No bilateral talks with Iran, Syria: White House
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1793135/posts
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