Iraq minister: New U.S.-Iran talks set (July 24)

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Iraq minister: New U.S.-Iran talks set

7 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - A new round of U.S.-Iran talks focusing on the
deteriorating security situation in Iraq will be held Tuesday
in Baghdad, the Iraqi foreign minister said.

"I can confirm that the United States and Iran have agreed to
meet on July 24th in Baghdad," Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari
told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The Bush administration had said Tuesday that it was ready to
hold a second round of direct talks with Iran, and Iran said it
had accepted a U.S. invitation for talks.

Zebari's comment was the first official confirmation of a date.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070722/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_us_iran

[ohio2007]

1. after 27 years of stone cold stares....a thaw ?

snip

The two sides will sit down together on Tuesday, according to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and U.S. Embassy spokesman Philip Reeker, amid U.S. allegations that Tehran is supporting violent Shiite militias in the country.

Zebari told The Associated Press by telephone that the discussions would be at the ambassadorial level and would focus on the situation in Iraq, not U.S.-Iran tensions.

Iraq's fragile government has been pressing for another meeting between the two nations with the greatest influence over its future, and Iran has repeatedly signaled its willingness to sit down. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said last week that Washington was also ready to hold new talks with Iran on the security situation in Iraq.

The May 28 meeting marked a break in a 27-year diplomatic freeze between the U.S. and Iran and was expected to have been followed within a month by a second encounter. But following that meeting, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other U.S. officials said Iran had not scaled back what the United States claims is a concerted effort to arm militants and harm U.S. troops.

Tensions also have risen over Tehran's detention of four Iranian- American scholars and activists charged with endangering national security. The U.S. has demanded their release, saying the charges against them are false.

At the same time, Iran has called for the release of five Iranians detained in Iraq, whom the United States has said are members of Iran's elite Quds Force—accused of arming and training Iraqi militants. Iran says the five are diplomats in Iraq with permission of the government.

As recently as Sunday, U.S. troops detained two suspected weapons smugglers who may be linked to the Quds force, the military said. The suspects and a number of weapons were seized during a raid on a rural farm compound in eastern Iraq near the Iranian border, according to a statement.

snip
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8QHVAE80&show_article=1

so,
who's afraid to 'give peace a chance' ?