Bush rejects direct talks with Iran

Reuters/NY Times:

President Bush deflected talk of civil war in Iraq on Tuesday and said Washington's conditions for talking to Iran remained unchanged -- Tehran must first suspend nuclear fuel enrichment.

Asked what the difference was between the current bloodshed in Iraq and civil war, Bush said the latest bombings were part of a nine-month-old pattern of attacks by al Qaeda militants aimed at fomenting sectarian violence by provoking retaliation.

He said that while the Iraqi government was free to talk to Iran about helping end the violence, U.S. conditions for direct talks with Tehran remained unchanged.

...
Talking with Iran has never lead to anything of value with the US. Even when the hostages were released it was not as the result of talks but the result of Ronald Reagan's election. The diplomatic flurry of recent days is more likely tied to doing something about Iran and Hezballah's ties to Sadr and the trouble he is stirring in Iraq.

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