WASHINGTON — In a break with long-standing policy, a top State Department official will join representatives of five allied powers this weekend in a meeting with a senior Iranian official to discuss Tehran's disputed nuclear program.
Undersecretary of State William J. Burns, the No. 3 State Department official, will meet with Iranian envoy Saeed Jalili, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and other diplomats in Switzerland in a new effort by the allies to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions in return for a package of political and economic inducements, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
The Bush administration has rarely permitted official contacts with the Iranians, believing that it has more diplomatic leverage with Tehran by trying to isolate the Islamic regime. In this case, however, the administration wants to underscore its desire to find a solution to a diplomatic impasse that continues despite years of effort, said the official, who declined to be identified because Burns' trip had not yet been officially announced.
U.S. officials are emphasizing that Burns' role will be limited in that he will be present, but will not negotiate. They say negotiations can begin only if the regime suspends uranium enrichment.
A formal announcement of the move is to come today.
The initiative reflects the Bush administration's willingness to bend long-standing policies as it tries to eke out progress on its major foreign policy challenges in its final months in office. It comes at a time of growing concern about the threat of war over the impasse, even though U.S. officials and allies continue to emphasize that they are seeking a diplomatic solution.
The move is likely to scramble the foreign policy debate in the presidential election. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, has sided with the administration in arguing that the United States should sharply limit contacts with Tehran.
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has said he is willing to begin high-level talks with the Iranians, provided certain conditions are met and it serves U.S. interests. Obama campaign aides have already said they favor the idea of a U.S. diplomat accompanying Solana at his meetings with Iranian officials.
