Iran talks on Iraq may prove dialogue of deaf
(Reuters)

In a worst-case scenario, talks could descend into a ”dialogue of the deaf”, offering hardliners on both sides the chance to declare contacts a failure and exacerbating an already tense standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme, the analysts add.

Washington accuses Teheran of fomenting unrest in Iraq, which Iran blames on the US-led forces that invaded. But despite the exchange of accusations, analysts say both are worried about worsening violence in Iraq, pushing them to agree to talks.

“There is a degree of urgency among both parties not to see Iraq slide into civil war,” said Anoush Ehteshami, a leading Iran scholar at Britain’s Durham University.

“They (Iranians) want a subdued and stable Iraq rather than a burning, anarchistic Iraq,” he said, adding: “Obviously they don’t want Iraq to be under American tutelage.”

While both sides say they will sit together, comments so far suggest they are keener to lecture than to listen. Read more.