ASSOCIATED PRESS: US TO ATTEND GROUP NUCLEAR TALKS WITH IRAN

The Obama administration said today that it will participate directly in group talks with Iran over its suspect nuclear program, marking another shift from former President George W. Bush’s policy.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the United States would be at the table “from now on” when senior diplomats from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany meet with Iranian officials to discuss the nuclear issue. The Bush administration had generally shunned such meetings, although it attended one last year.

If Iran accepts, we hope this will be the occasion to seriously engage Iran on how to break the logjam of recent years and work in a cooperative manner to resolve the outstanding international concerns about its nuclear program.  Any breakthrough will be the result of the collective efforts of all the parties, including Iran, Wood said.

The administration wants a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear issue and believes that requires a willingness to engage directly with each other on the basis of mutual respect and mutual interests. 

Question to the Blogosphere:  Do you think Iran will meet in direct group talks with the United States, judging by its behavior in recent weeks?  What are the reasons you can think of for why we haven’t engaged Iran sooner?  Do you think those reasons are overruled by the increasing threat of  nuclear Iran?  Are there people and countries with whom the United States should not negotiate?