5 May NY Times - U.S. Now Reaching Out to Those It Shunned by Michael Slackman and Helene Cooper.

After two days of talks aimed at building an international strategy to help bring peace and stability to Iraq, little changed in what many here saw as the crucial factor: relations between Iran and the United States.

The United States reached out to the Iranians, seeking a diplomatic conversation after years of pursuing a policy of trying to isolate them.

But the Iranian foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, seemed unimpressed, offering a blistering critique of the American role in Iraq. He also used the international platform to attack Israel and to reaffirm Iran’s right to a nuclear program, which it says is peaceful and the West says is intended to build weapons...