Rice says U.S., Iran could meet at Iraq conference

Reuters: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday she might meet with Iran’s foreign minister at an upcoming conference on stabilizing Iraq. WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday she might meet with Iran’s foreign minister at an upcoming conference on stabilizing Iraq.

Rice said in television interviews that she would not rule out an “encounter” with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki at the conference of key powers, to be held May 3-4 in Egypt.

However, Rice said any discussions would center only on stabilizing Iraq and not broader U.S.-Iranian relations.

“This is not a (conference) about the United States and Iran,” she said on the ABC network’s “This Week” program. “This is a meeting about Iraq and about what Iraq’s neighbors and interested parties can do to help stabilize the situation in Iraq.”

U.S. officials have accused Iran of training and supplying weapons to Shi’ite militias in Iraq.

“What do we need to do?” Rice said. “It’s quite obvious. Stop the flow of arms to foreign fighters. Stop the flow of foreign fighters across the borders.”