Former US President Bill Clinton said yesterday that the United States
should try talking to Iran about its nuclear program without imposing a lot of
conditions.
"The United States should not be afraid to talk to anyone. They should not be
reluctant and shouldn't have too many conditions," Clinton said in an interview
with NBC's "Today" show.
US President George W. Bush has refused to hold direct talks with Iran until
it agrees to suspend enrichment of uranium, which the US fears will be used to
build nuclear weapons.
Washington and Tehran have severed diplomatic relations since Iranian
students stormed in 1979 the US Embassy in Tehran and held its occupants hostage
for 444 days to protest Washington's refusal to hand over the toppled shah,
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Both Bush and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the UN
General Assembly in New York this week to spar over Tehran's nuclear program,
but they avoided any personal contact.
