- 24 July 2008
- 3 Comments
- Diplomacy, Legislative Agenda
The recent news that the United States would be sending their number three official in the State Department, Undersecretary of State William J. Burns to take part in talks with Iran is a significant departure from previous policies. Last Saturday’s conference in Geneva with European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and Iran’s nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili was considered a golden opportunity for the two nations to directly discuss Iran’s nuclear program. The move, which has been applauded by many experts in the field (and attacked just as harshly by the likes of John Bolton) has also been described in the Washington Times as the “most significant American diplomatic contact with Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.”