"U.S. and Iran are edging toward direct talks "

[applegrove]

U.S. and Iran are edging toward direct talks

by Paul Richter at the LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-us-iran-20130912,0,1520818.story

"SNIP...........................


Obama suggested in four TV interviews this week, for example, that Iran had played a constructive role in pushing Syrian President Bashar Assad to refrain from using chemical weapons. Iran is one of Syria's closest allies and supplies conventional arms to Assad's forces, so Rouhani may have considerable leverage in the Russian-led effort to disarm Syria of its toxic weapons.

"You know, one reason that this may have a chance of success is that even Syria's allies, like Iran, detest chemical weapons," Obama told CNN. "Iran, you know, unfortunately was the target of chemical weapons at the hands of Saddam Hussein back during the Iraq-Iran War.... And you know, I suspect that some of Assad's allies recognize the mistake he made in using these weapons and it may be that he is under pressure from them as well."

Washington and Tehran have exchanged private messages about the civil war in Syria, according to Iran's new foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, although he didn't reveal the substance. Analysts say Iran is trying to avoid having the Syrian chemical weapons crisis damage prospects for a potential resolution of Tehran's nuclear standoff with the West.

Zarif's prominent role marks a clear shift in Tehran. The graduate of San Francisco State University and the University of Denver, and a popular diplomat when he was Iran's envoy to the United Nations from 2002 to 2007, has been named to lead Iran's nuclear negotiating team.


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[Uncle Joe]

1. That would be a most positve development

Thanks for the thread, applegrove.