WASHINGTON: The United States said on Monday that it was open to holing back-channel talks with Iran on the situation in the Middle East but added that there would be no military coordination with the Islamic Republic.

At a news briefing at the State Department, deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said the United States was publicly asking every country – including Iran – to support an inclusive government in Iraq.

“But we have said very clearly that we are not going to do military coordination with them, … we will not share our plans (or) intelligence with them.”

The US, however, would not hold even back-channel talks with the Assad regime in Syria as it had no legitimacy, she said.

Asked if the United States approved the military assistance Iran was providing to Iraq, Ms Harf said: “Any support needs to be channelled through the Iraqi government, (and if it does) it is something we would be fine with.”

She also acknowledged that the Iranians “clearly have influence in Iraq”.

Ms Harf insisted that Iran’s participation in the international conference on Syria, which began in Paris on Monday, was not appropriate. “But this does not mean they cannot participate in future, wider talks.”

She said that US officials may discuss the situation in the Middle East with the Iranians on Thursday when they would be in New York for talks with the P-5+1 Group on their nuclear programme.

“I would not compare them to the Iranians,” said Ms Harf when a journalist asked why Washington was willing to talk to the Iranians and not the Syrian government.

Defending the decision to engage Iran, she said that “Iran recognised IS as a threat and had said so publicly.”

Earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Paris that the Obama administration was open to holding confidential communications with Iran.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported on Monday that the United States decided to keep Iran out of the Paris conference on Syria on the advice of its close Arab allies.

The report said that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and top officials from the United Arab Emirates had informed Washington that they would not attend the Paris meeting if Iran were present.

Leaders of more than 30 countries gathered in Paris on Monday to consider a global response to the threat posed by the militants of the Islamic State group. The leaders also pledged to support Iraq by all possible means to fight jihadists, including military assistance.

Secretary Kerry said that keeping Iran out of the Paris conference did not mean, “We are opposed to the idea of communicating to find out if they will come on board or under what circumstances or whether there is the possibility of a change.”

Mr Kerry said that “having a channel of communication on one of the biggest issues in the world today is common sense”.

In Washington, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy asked members to take up a resolution on the expected US military offensive in Syria as early as Tuesday. This is a threat, and the House will act as one as Americans,” he said.

In the Senate, which is dominated by the Democratic Party, Majority Leader Harry Reid also called for vote on the issue.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2014