The U.S. is now set to join Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia in talks with Iran about its suspect nuclear program-- if Iran signs on.
WAPO: WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration said Wednesday it will participate directly in group talks with Iran over its suspect nuclear program, another significant shift from President George W. Bush's policy toward a nation he labeled part of an axis of evil.
The State Department said the United States would be at the table "from now on" when senior diplomats from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany meet with Iranian officials to discuss the nuclear issue. The Bush administration had generally shunned such meetings, although it attended one last year.
"We believe that pursuing very careful engagement on a range of issues that affect our interests and the interests of the world with Iran makes sense," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters. "There is nothing more important than trying to convince Iran to cease its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon."
In other Iranian news, Hillary Clinton is working to free a journalist accused of spying:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed the Obama administration's concern over reports that U.S. journalist Roxana Saberi, an NPR freelancer, has been charged with espionage, reiterating her call for the reporter's speedy release.
"We are deeply concerned by the news that we're hearing," Clinton said at the State Department. She said the White House was working through Swiss diplomats in Iran for the "most accurate, up-to-date information."
"I will, as will the rest of the department, continue to follow this closely and we wish for her speedy release and return to her family," Clinton said. NPR
