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A delegation of senior U.S. officials in New York for the UNGeneral Assembly meetings on Sept. 22 held a surprise meeting withnewly-appointed Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi in the UNdelegates dining room, sources present at the meeting told The IranBrief.
The meeting, unannounced by either side, was informal and appearsnot to have been orchestrated - at least on the U.S. side. "Theannual UN General Assembly meeting in New York has traditionallybeen the venue for unofficial meetings of this sort," a U.S. sourcesaid. "The State Department has issued new instructions not to avoidencounters with Iranian officials," the source added.
While no one will comment officially on the encounter, one U.S.official noted that the U.S. policy on contacts with Iranianofficials had not changed. "Contacts are not to be avoided if theyoccur within the framework of normal course of business inmulti-lateral fora such as the UN," the official said. "But this isnot a meeting, or a bilateral exchange." Nevertheless, only two yearsearlier, Secretary of State Warren Christopher studiously avoidedmeeting with Foreign Minister Ali Velayati in Damascus. And other topofficials, including Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, have displayedannoyance when Iranian officials have turned up in the same foreigncapitals they were visiting.
"It's clear that the Clinton administration is favorably disposedtoward hearing a message from Tehran," the source familiar with theNew York meeting said. Among those U.S.,officials saidto have workedtoward setting up this first meeting are former Assistant Secretaryof State Richard Schifter, and former U.S. ambassador Ron Neumann.According to knowledgeable sources, they had earlier tried to arrangefor a delegation of former Assistant Secretaries of State, includingRichard Murphy and Robert Pelletreau, to visit Tehran, to pave theway for a high-level official exchange.
In Tehran, the semi-official media has not changed its propagandaassault against the U.S. - with particularly vituperative remarksreserved for Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and hermid-September Middle East tour. And prior to coming to New York,Kharrazi went out of his way in Tehran to insist he would make "noconcessions" to U.S. demands concerning terrorism of the IslamicRepublic's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, as we reportedlast month.
But on the U.S. side, there appears to be a new tone, if not areal policy shift. Iran-watchers in Washington note that Albright hasstudiously avoided characterizing the Islamic Republic as a "rogueregime," the favored epithet of Warren Christopher, and has"cautiously welcomed" the election of Mohammad Khatami aspresident.
A top Israeli official following U.S. policy toward Iran agreed."We've been seeing Mrs. Albright dabbling in Irani affairs. The realquestion is whether the Iranis themselves have any intention ofbacking off on terrorism or weapons of mass destruction. WithAyatollah Khamene'i still firmly in charge, we see absolutely nosigns that is about to occur, either now or in the future."
Until now, the only official exchanges between the U.S. and Iranhave been through the respective Interests Sections in Tehran andWashington, DC, which exchange diplomatic notes - mainly U.S.protests over Iran's support for international terrorism - and at theU.S.-Iran Claims Tribunal in the Hague which is still laboring toresolve lawsuits left over from the early days of the Revolution.
As can be seen from the President's latest communication toCongress on Iran (see below), the cautious U.S. opening toward Tehrandoes not appear to include any proffer to waive the current sanctionslegislation. But it comes at a time when Israel, too, has also beensoftening its rhetorical hostility toward the Islamic Republic, as wereported last month. All eyes are now turned to Europe, to see if theEuropean Union will succeed in convincing Tehran to accept thesimultaneous return of all EU ambassadors following their recall inApril to protest Iranian government involvement in the Mykonoskillings. But for such a gesture to lead to an improvement inrelations, it would have to accompanied by "real, measurable" Iraniancommitments to eliminate its support for foreign terrorism, U.S.officials said. And if Hezbollah activities in Lebanon are anymeasure of this, the Islamic Republic seems intent on pursuing itsrole as regional trouble-maker for some time to come.