DAR AL HARB - U.S.A.: PEOPLE SHOULDN'T HAVE ANY ILLUSIONS ABOUT IRAN

Pentagon chief warns against "illusions" on Iran

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday said the United States was open to high-level talks with Tehran, but warned against "illusions" about Iran's government and its intentions.

"We should have no illusions about the nature of this regime or about their designs for their nuclear program, their intentions for Iraq or their ambitions in the Gulf region," Gates said at a speech to the American-Turkish Council in Washington.

...

"Our government is open to high-level exchanges," he said.

"But in dealing with a regime like Iran one has to be realistic. The American search for elusive Iranian moderates is a recurring and mostly fruitless theme since the (Iranian) revolution in 1979."


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