U.S. Pondering Direct Contact With Iran

19 October 2005 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today that Washington has been contemplating opening direct contacts with Tehran to talk about what the U.S. government considers Iran's meddling in Iraqi affairs.

Rice pointed out that U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad held
discussion with Iran under the auspices of the UN when he was
ambassador to Afghanistan.
Rice said the same could be done to raise concerns about Iraq.
The U.S. government suspects that Iran is funding Shi'ite groups in
Iraq and allowing insurgents to cross into Iraq. (dpa)
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