US policy on Iran seems to be softening, but the world must stay vigilant to avert the threat of war. The resolution in Congress for what amounts to a naval blockade of Iran is, in effect, an act of war. The EU and the international community should call for the military option to be ruled out, and for the US to drop its precondition and enter into direct, comprehensive negotiations with Iran. ››read more

Esfandiar Rahim MashaieTEHRAN (AFP) — Iran is "friends with the Israeli people", a deputy of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, in stark contrast to Tehran's usual verbal assaults against the Jewish state, local media reported on Sunday. ››read more

Washington's presence at the Geneva meeting marks the highest-level diplomatic contact with Tehran in decades. But it yields no breakthrough as Iran refuses to say whether it will halt uranium enrichm ››read more

GENEVA (AP) — Iran and the European Union's chief negotiators agreed Saturday to resume talks on suspending uranium enrichment in two weeks, after Tehran ruled out freezing its program in talks that included the United States for the first time. ››read more

Iran's foreign minister said Friday that he expects weekend talks with the United States to produce agreements on opening an American diplomatic outpost in Tehran and restoring direct flights between the two nations.
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But hawks in Jerusalem and Washington view the coming twilight of the Bush administration as a last opportunity to act militarily.

A flurry of recent consultations between American and Israeli military and intelligence chiefs signals to some analysts increasing coordination in the case of a decision to strike Iran. ››read more

Vice President Cheney doesn't act in plain view, so discerning his influence on the Bush presidency has always been a bit of a guessing game. And in the wake of the White House's shift on Iran policy -- from saber-rattling to talking -- one guess is that Cheney's influence, at least on this issue, is waning. ››read more

VelayatiBushTalks with Iran signify that the administration has finally abandoned a failed part of its foreign policy. ››read more

William BurnsA senior United States official is due to take part for the first time in international talks with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme. ››read more

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Friday confirmed that the United States had shifted its position on diplomacy with Iran, with the decision to send a senior envoy to Geneva to participate in nuclear talks with Iran's top negotiator. ››read more

The US decision to send the State Department's third-ranking official to sit in on the meeting between European Union foreign affairs chief Javier Solana and Iran's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili Saturday has been hailed as a major diplomatic breakthrough, but it is too soon to pop the champagne cork. ››read more

BoltonRiceThe surest reason for believing that America really has reversed its policy on Iran, to the pursuit of face-to-face negotiations and the establishment of a US office in Tehran, is the outrage it has caused among hardliners in Washington. ››read more

William BurnsWASHINGTON - In the seemingly never-ending internal battle between hawks and realists in the administration of US President George W Bush for control of foreign policy, the realists appear to have chalked up another win over their once-dominant foes. ››read more

Iranian missileOnly an irrational person or organization could continue to discuss as viable a military strike against Iran. Sadly, based upon past and current policy articulations, neither AIPAC nor the Bush administration can be considered rational when it comes to the issue of Iran. It is up to the American people, through their elected representatives in Congress, to inject a modicum of sanity into a situation that continues to be in danger of spinning out of control. ››read more

The United States' decision to set aside its previous preconditions for direct negotiation with Iran by taking part in multilateral diplomacy involving Tehran in Geneva at the weekend is a long overdue and welcome step forward. It could culminate in a significant breakthrough in the stalled relations between the countries should both sides take advantage of the moment and build on the momentum generated toward civility in their hitherto confrontational approach. ››read more

For those hardliners who want to overthrow the Iranian government, not cooperate with it, these are unsettling moves. And a new monograph by the RAND Corporation, a prominent US think-tank which has long produced reports on various national security issues for the US Air Force, will likely only worsen their mood. ››read more

MofazJERUSALEM, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said Israel must be ready for a military option against a nuclear Iran if there are no other choices, local daily Jerusalem Post reported Friday.
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Jalili BurnsTEHRAN (AFP) — Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili expressed optimism on Friday that weekend talks attended for the first time by the United States over their nuclear standoff would be constructive, provided Washington came with the right approach. ››read more

Mottaki-- RiceMr Bush's decision to send the number three in the State Department, William Burns, to attend talks with Iran in Geneva at the weekend caused howls of outrage that were heard all the way from the State Department's sanctuary of Foggy Bottom to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. A parallel initiative to reopen the interest's section of the American embassy in Tehran, which would be the first return of a diplomatic presence on Iranian territory since 1979, has also received a cool response from neo-conservatives. ››read more

"This would be helpful to our people," Muhammad Hosseinzadegan, an 18-year-old student, said. "The sanctions will go away and the mutual difficulties between the two countries might decrease. I really hope that this quarrel with America ends one day." ››read more