As U.S. officials push accusations of Iranian nuclear development, Washington and Tehran have engaged in three rounds of secret talks in Geneva this year, USA Today reported (see GSN, May 9).

White House envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is reportedly heading the U.S. delegation in the discussions, which are set to resume next week.  Despite clandestine diplomatic contacts, the United States is pushing the International Atomic Energy Agency to censure Tehran for what Washington believes is a secret nuclear weapons development program.

The two countries have not had diplomatic relations in 23 years but the Iranian Parliament and public seem open to re-establishing ties, according to USA Today.

“The debate is taking place both in Iran and the United States,” an Iranian diplomat said.  “We are ready to discuss reestablishing relations on the basis of mutual respect,” the diplomat added.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell dismissed the idea of renewing diplomatic relations any time soon.

“The issue of diplomatic relations is not on the table right now for either side,” Powell said.  “But in terms of communicating with the Iranians, we have such ways, and we use them on a regular basis,” he added (Barbara Slavin, USA Today, May 11).

The burgeoning relationship, however, may have been damaged by the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

Tehran believed the United States would attack the anti-Iranian militia Mujahedin-e-Khalq during the invasion while Washington asked Iran not to send fighters over its border with Iraq.  The White House has begun disarming the Mujahedin-e-Khalq, but Iran is attempting to influence the situation in Iraq, the Journal reported.

Iranian agents are telling Iraqis that Washington does not have staying power and U.S. influence will not be around for too much longer, according to a U.S. official.

“The message is, ‘Don’t get too close to the Americans,’” the official said.

The more U.S. President George W. Bush appears to threaten Iran in coming months, “the more active Tehran will be in Iraq to try to keep us tied down so we can’t focus on them,” said a U.S. intelligence official (David Cloud, Wall Street Journal, May 12).

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