State department on Iran

[Shpira]

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5314.htm

I wonder how many people have actually read this...
It seems quite funny to me personally and it in many ways contradicts itself and the situation as reported in the media.

The United States has held discussions with Iranian representatives on particular issues of concern over the years. U.S. and Iranian envoys cooperated during operations to overthrow the Taliban in 2001 and during the Bonn Conference in 2002 that established a broad-based government for the Afghan people under President Karzai. The Secretary of State, her Iranian counterpart, and others met at talks on Iraq in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on May 3, 2007. The American and Iranian ambassadors to Iraq took part in face-to-face discussions in Baghdad, with Iraqi officials in attendance, on May 28, 2007. Representatives from the three countries engaged in a second round of talks on July 24, 2007. Ambassadors met for a third discussion on August 6, 2007. The United States believes, however, that normal relations are impossible until Iran's policies change.

I also read that the Iranian government allowed for US pilots to crash land in Iran during the Afghan war...so I wonder what motivated the sudden shift and the axis of evil speech...any ideas?

[Miroslav]

Re: State department on Iran

Just because the past administration and didn't see eye to eye with the Iranians on many things doesn't mean that there had to be no diplomatic contact with the two sides.

[Shpira]

Re: State department on Iran

I disagree as Bush publicly argued that no US official will meet with an Iranian one...furthermore it was in the interest of Iran for Afghanistan to be sorted out along with Iraq as they didn't see eye to eye (as you put it) with either of them. Furthermore there is more continuation in US foreign policy than any other sphere of US politics.
Furthermore those were the first meetings between ANY officials of the two nations in more than 20 years and in my opinion would have been a perfect opportunity for improving relations after all the things the two sides did to each other...but I guess US economic interests as perceived by the Bush administration took precedence.