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Posted by
Olog-hai
on Sun Mar 8 17:12:16 2009, in response to Iran invited (by US) to conference on Afghanistan, posted by Olog-hai on Fri Mar 6 02:30:13 2009.
edf40wrjww2msgDetailOT:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d More from the Wall Street Journal . . . the Supreme Leader is still equating Obama with Bush.
U.S. Sets Stage to Meet Iran at Afghanistan SummitBy JAY SOLOMONBRUSSELS — The U.S. proposed a United Nations-led conference on Afghanistan on March 31 that would provide a forum for the first meeting between President Barack Obama's foreign-policy team and Iran's leadership.
Mr. Obama has stressed his desire to open a dialogue with Tehran in an effort to end its nuclear program and develop cooperation in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton formally proposed the Afghanistan conference at a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's foreign ministers in Brussels Thursday.
"It is expected that Iran would be invited as a neighbor of Afghanistan," Mrs. Clinton said.
Mrs. Clinton has said Iran could play an important role in stabilizing Kabul's government and cutting off the flow of arms and narcotics into and out of the country.
"Where it is appropriate and useful for the United States and others to see whether Iran can be constructive, that will be considered," Mrs. Clinton told reporters Wednesday.
Since Mr. Obama's election, Iran's leadership has offered conflicting signals on its desire for engagement with the U.S.
Senior Iranian officials have said they welcome such a dialogue, with conditions.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a gathering in Tehran Wednesday the Obama administration's foreign policy "amounts to the same crooked ways of the Bush administration and nothing else."
Iran has been among the primary topics Mrs. Clinton discussed during her tour of the Middle East and Europe this week.
U.S. officials said the Afghanistan conference would likely be held in the Netherlands, and include aid donors, international bodies, and Iran's neighbors.
"We hope that this meeting could provide an opportunity to reach a common set of principles … on a common way forward," Mrs. Clinton said Thursday.
—Farnaz Fassihi in Beirut contributed to this article.
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