U.S. diplomat to meet with Iran

By Matthew Lee - Associated Press
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - Web Link
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July 16, 2008

A top U.S. diplomat heading to Geneva has no plans to meet separately with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, but the mere presence of the Bush administration official at talks between the Iranian negotiator and representatives of other world powers will be a sharp break with past administration policy.

William Burns, America's third highest-ranking diplomat, will attend talks with the Iranian envoy, Saeed Jalili, in Switzerland on Saturday. The talks are aimed at persuading Iran to halt activities that could lead to the development of atomic weapons, a senior U.S. official told the Associated Press yesterday. It will be the first time such a high-ranking U.S. official has attended such talks.

Official contacts between Iran and the United States are extremely rare and although Washington is part of a six-nation effort to get Iran to stop enriching and reprocessing uranium, the administration has shunned contacts with Tehran on the matter.

The senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement of Burns' plans expected today, acknowledged a shift in the administration's approach but stressed that Burns would not meet Jalili separately and would not negotiate with him.

"This is a one-time event and he will be there to listen, not negotiate," the official said.