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WASHINGTON, July 20 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States is prepared to meet with Iranians and discuss with them certain issues, but there are some serious issues that divide the United States and Iran, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Tuesday.
"The United States has been willing to talk to Iran
when we felt it was important and in our interests and useful to do so," Boucher
said at a news briefing.
He added that the two countries had had discussions
on the question of "Iran's role in Iraq and the need for Iran to play a
constructive role and not allow destabilizing activities to occur in Iraq."
"So we are prepared to meet with Iranians and talk
about issues,but there are serious issues that divide us with Iran, and we
havenot seen progress on these issues," Boucher said.
"In fact, we have see promises made and promises
broken on things like the nuclear issue. We have seen a continuation of al-Qaeda
people in Iraq in some undefined status and not being turnedover to nations that
might be pursuing them for justice. We have seen a continuation of support for
terrorist groups that are trying to undermine the peace process and undermine
the Palestinian hopes and dreams," Boucher said.
US President George W. Bush said on Monday that the
United States would continue to investigate if Iran was involved in the Sept.
11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"As to direct connections with September the 11th, we
are digging into the facts to determine if there was one," Bush said.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that the final
report of a commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks would offer new
evidence of cooperative ties between Iran and Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda
terrorist network.
Nonetheless, US officials have emphasized that the
commission had no evidence to suggest that Iranian officials knew of the Sept.11
plot.
Iran has denied US accusations and said news reports
tying Iranto the al-Qaeda were part of a US cover-up to deflect attention away
from its failings in Iraq. Enditem
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