Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said on Sunday if the US administration officially asks for talks with Iran, it will be considered.
Asked about a meeting between Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and his US counterpart Condoleezza Rice on the sidelines of an international meeting held in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh on Iraqi security, he said, "Basically, a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two states was not on our agenda."
"In a luncheon thrown by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Sharm el-Sheikh, over 30 foreign ministers were present and no specific talks or negotiations and meetings were held between the Iranian and US foreign ministers," he said, according to IRNA.
Tehran is not after a put-up meeting, he said, adding, "The problems between Iran and the US are numerous and with long precedence and should be examined with patience and tolerance."
Stressing that necessary preparations should be made first, the spokesman said, "Goodwill and a resolution to resolve issues between the two sides are among such measures. "If the grounds are prepared, the way would be paved and there would be the opportunity for resuming and revising relations." In response to a question on reports on the possibility of a visit to Iran of the former US president Bill Clinton in the future, Hosseini said, "We have received no official request in this respect."
