Rooyesh

Washington and Tehran are poised for their highest-level talks for years later this week, following Iran’s agreement to attend a key international conference on the future of Iraq. Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, is expected to meet the Iranian foreign minister, Manuchehr Mottaki, at Sharm al-Sheikh on Friday. Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister, said US-Iranian talks were now “highly likely”, but Ms Rice was cautious, saying she would “not rule out” an encounter.

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