Analysis: Iraq Draws U.S., Iran to the Table
Council on Foreign Relations
May 29, 2007
Prepared by: Lionel Beehner
Two Iranian-American academics sit in Iranian jail cells, charged with espionage (BBC), and five Iranian operatives remain prisoners of U.S. forces in Iraq. Tension over these captives, along with a host of other deep problems, set an unusual backdrop for rare bilateral talks between the two longstanding foes. Yet the Iraq war provides a rare instance where U.S. and Iranian interests converge more than they collide. Neither Washington nor Tehran wants to see a failed state or the return of a Saddam-like strongman to power. Both back the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, albeit tepidly at times, and both at least nominally want an Iraqi Kurdistan to remain just that.
Though limited to the Iraq issue, U.S.-Iranian talks on May 28 were nonetheless historic (LAT). They marked the first formal meeting of the two countries at the diplomatic level since the Carter administration (this interactive timeline outlines their stormy relationship, stretching back to World War II). Of course, the elephant in the room—Iran’s nuclear program—went unmentioned, as did Tehran’s support for groups Washington deems terrorists, like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Still, the mere fact that U.S. and Iranian diplomats are finally talking is in itself an achievement. The Bush administration had long ignored suggestions, from the Iraq Study Group and elsewhere, to directly engage Iran and Syria on Iraq. Its reversal reflects political realities in Washington, not to mention the worsening security situation in Iraq.
Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.
Copyright 2007 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.
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