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WASHINGTON - The United States hopes a meeting between the US and Iranian envoys to Baghdad will push Tehran to change its ways in Iraq even though their last encounter made no difference, said US officials.
"One would hope you would see a change in Iranian behaviour. I can't tell you whether or not we will see that. It is up to the Iranians," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack of the proposed meeting between ambassadors in Baghdad on Tuesday.
"If they really do want to see a changed Iraq and they want to contribute to that, then they are going to have to match their actions with their words," he told reporters.
Washington accuses Iran of stoking violence in Iraq by backing militants. Iran denies the charges and blames the US-led invasion of 2003 for the bloodshed.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said explosive devices blamed for the deaths of many US troops in Iraq as well as other weaponry were still coming into Iraq from Iran.
"This is an opportune time, at the invitation of the Iraqi government, to revisit commitments Iran has made, saying that it believes in trying to stabilize Iraq. We have seen signs that we think need addressing," said Snow.
Tuesday's meeting between Iranian Ambassador Hassan Kazemi-Qomi and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker follows a similar one in Baghdad on May 28 in what was the highest-profile contact in almost three decades between the two countries.
US officials said the May meeting did not lead to any changes by Iran and it was decided that further talks were needed.
"It was the decision of Secretary (of State Condoleezza) Rice, talking with President (George W.) Bush ... that it was appropriate to take this opportunity to see if we could underscore with the Iranians that they need to change their behaviour, despite, at this point, any lack of change in their behaviour," said McCormack.
McCormack said it was not clear whether more meetings would follow, adding the United States did not want to meet the Iranians just for the sake of it.
SYRIA
In May, Rice met the foreign minister of another US foe, Syria, to discuss how to stabilize Iraq. Washington also accuses Damascus of interfering in Iraq and of not doing enough to stop the flow of arms and fighters across the border.
McCormack said the Bush administration had not seen improvements by Syria either since Rice's meeting, but he still believed such talks were worthwhile.
"Sometimes this takes a gradual ramping up of pressure and keeping the spotlight on the need for these countries to play a positive role (in Iraq)," he said.
Tuesday's meeting would again be limited to discussing Iraq and would not touch on other issues such as Iran's nuclear ambitions or the detention of three Iranian-American academics by Tehran as well as a radio reporter prevented from returning to the United States.
Asked whether it was a missed opportunity not to discuss the detained Iranian-Americans during the envoys' meeting, McCormack replied: "It is a missed opportunity not to allow these people to leave (Iran) for the past two months."
US authorities have been holding five Iranians in Iraq since January and Tehran has, in turn, demanded their release.
The US military says the five are linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and were backing militants in Iraq while Iran has insisted they are diplomats.
- REUTERS
