DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - U.S.A./IRAQ/IRAN: U.S. - IRAN TALKS APPROACHING

U.S. Has Two-Part Strategy With Iran
by ANNE GEARAN
AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States is pursuing a two-track strategy with Iran that reflects the high stakes in any engagement with a nation President Bush accuses of bankrolling terrorism and secretly building a nuclear bomb.

Monday's talks in Baghdad are one element. Discussion between the U.S. and Iranian ambassadors is only supposed to cover Iraq, where they have competing and overlapping interests.

Then there are the U.S. Navy's exercises in the Persian Gulf last week and tough talk from Bush about new U.N. penalties against Tehran.

``In the American mind, the two tracks sort of complement each other,'' with the muscle-flexing and threats serving to push Iran to the bargaining table, said Ray Takeyh, an Iran specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations.

``Iran only sees one track'' and thinks it is a trap, Takeyh said. He does not hold out much hope the diplomats will get beyond talking points on Monday.

``The coercive track is undermining and negating the diplomatic track and preventing any sort of meaningful discussions,'' Takeyh said.

Still, any direct talks are rare. Even fleeting encounters at larger gatherings or diplomatic dinners are scrutinized for clues to the future of a troubled relationship.

The Baghdad talks are the first of their kind and a small sign that Washington thinks rapprochement is possible after nearly three decades of animosity. Iran, angry over the blunt show of U.S. military power off its coast, almost refused to come.

Bush agreed to the dialogue in hopes it could do some good inside Iraq and perhaps beyond.
Despite ambivalence within the Bush administration, U.S. diplomats hope this kind of limited conversation can build confidence on both sides and lead to something more substantive.

Diplomats hope for a full airing of views Monday and perhaps an agreement to meet again. Cancellation of the talks, even for reasons that sound plausible, would spell failure.

``The ball really is in their court,'' State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Friday.
There is plenty to talk about, even within the confines both sides have laid out.

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Pertinent Links:

1) U.S. Has Two-Part Strategy With Iran