WASHINGTON — Amid concern that the U.S. is drifting toward eventual confrontation with Iran, a growing number of influential statesmen, Republican senators and foreign policy experts are stepping up pressure on the Bush administration to consider doing what no U.S. administration has done in 27 years: talk directly with Iran.
In recent congressional hearings, think-tank conferences, op-ed essays and media appearances, Republican heavyweights -- including former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) -- have publicly urged the administration to leave the current path of escalation and join European allies in direct talks with Tehran.
The public campaign parallels private efforts by GOP insiders, foreign policy specialists and U.S. allies abroad to influence the thinking of key administration officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Elliott Abrams, who oversees Iran policy at the National Security Council. Both have met recently with foreign diplomats and outside experts and have discussed U.S. diplomacy with Iran.
"I think the administration is gradually and with some reluctance moving in the right direction," said a central figure in the Republican foreign policy establishment who is trying to shift the administration's stance.
"But I don't think they are taking initiatives now. I think they are being dragged."
The administration's stance toward Iran, refusing direct talks while allowing other nations to negotiate, has paid few dividends and could add to the unpopularity of future sanctions or military action, the foreign policy expert said.
But the administration may be forced to change as a result of "pressure from Europeans, from the Russians, and the general sense that they are just on a wicket they can't sustain there," the expert said.
As pressure on the White House intensified in the last week, there were signs of slight but significant shifts in the administration position.
Press Secretary Tony Snow repeated the administration's refusal to consider direct talks but said things could change if Iran suspended its uranium enrichment efforts and committed to halting them permanently.
"When that happens, all right, then there may be some opportunities," Snow said.
On May 8, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wrote a 17-page letter asking Bush for direct talks.
