U.S. to participate in Iran nuclear talks

WASHINGTON – The United States said Wednesday that it would directly participate “from now on” in international talks with Iran over its nuclear activities, the latest move in the Obama administration’s promised diplomatic outreach to the Tehran government.

“There’s nothing more important than trying to convince Iran to cease its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said. The United States, she said in brief comments at the State Department, would be a full participant with Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China in any future Iran negotiations.

The announcement, made in London after a meeting among the negotiating partners, broke with the Bush administration’s policy of supporting talks between Iran and the others but not participating in them. Although President George W. Bush made an exception to the policy in July, allowing a senior U.S. diplomat to attend a meeting at which Iran was present, his administration later said that Iran was not serious and that the effort would not be repeated.

A senior administration official, who agreed to discuss the issue on the condition of anonymity after the London statement and Clinton’s comments, said there was no internal debate over whether to fully join the negotiations if and when another round is scheduled. “It was kind of silly that we had to walk out of the room” when the Iranians were present, the official said.

Iran offered no immediate public response to the announcement. Its official statements since President Obama offered in his inaugural speech to “extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist” have vacillated between hard-line and moderate. In comments Wednesday before the London statement, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad said his country would welcome direct engagement with the United States, providing Obama was “honest.”

But Ahmedinejad also said he planned to announce “good nuclear news” to the nation today, the Reuters news agency reported from Tehran, and some experts said he would claim progress in uranium enrichment. Iran has said that it seeks enrichment only to the level needed for energy production rather than what the West says is the much higher weapons-grade level.

The July round of talks was the last in the years-long effort by the negotiators to persuade Iran to give up what the West says – and Iran denies – is a nuclear weapons development program. Last fall, the Bush administration failed to persuade the U.N. Security Council to support a fourth round of international sanctions against Iran. Russia, in particular, resisted.

Obama has said he seeks diplomatic rapprochement with Iran on a range of issues.