CNN published the transcript of an interview with US Secretary of State ‘Condi’ Rice. In the interview she acknowledges that US policy towards Iran has changed somewhat but says that the administration did not flip-flop (or alter its policy drastically).

“I acknowledge that what we have done is to make a step that we think demonstrates to everyone our seriousness about this process,” she said. “But what has not changed is that the United States is determined to have negotiations only when Iran has suspended its enrichment and reprocessing. That’s when the United States can join. ”

William Cohen, CNN World Affairs Analyst explained that “the Baker-Hamilton commission nearly two years ago had recommended that the Bush administration initiate discussions with Iran. So, this has been an ongoing process with the Bush administration.” Rice, he said, “has been in the forefront of this, trying to find a way that we could sit down and actually have these kinds of discussions. But there has been a confluence of events, namely, the Israelis conducting that exercise in the Mediterranean, looking very much like a preparation for a strike against Iran, their strike against Syria recently against I suspect at a nuclear site, the fact that they seem to be moving more and more toward a military solution, or action, against Iran.”

Europe’s influence too is important: “That, coupled with strong support coming from our European friends, the Brits, British, and the French in particular, that all kind of puts us in a position of saying now is the time to discuss this with them.”

Rice too explained that Europe plays a significant role: “And in fact, what Bill Burns will do is he will go to demonstrate the unity of the P5 plus one, as we call it, Russia, China, and the three European countries. He will go to demonstrate that we are unified. He will go to affirm that the United States fully backs the package.”

So, the Bush administration is willing to talk to Iran, and it’s making this increasingly clear, but it will not – it seems – be one-on-one talks (as Barack Obama seems to be willing to do). No, Europe and other countries are taken into consideration. Rice and Bush favor a multilateral approach.

Furthermore, while some have said that the US should talk to Iran without preconditions, Rice makes clear that there can be no direct talks unless Ahmadinejad et al. agree to suspend their nuclear program. That too is important. Iran first has to show that it’s prepared to compromise and reach out.

The Bush administration has received quite some criticism in recent days from hawks who believe that the US should not talk to Iran, nor reach out to the Mullahs. Realists within the Republican Party, however, have been more positive about these developments. Then there are others – mainly Democrats – who believe that the new approach is only a step in the right direction but not more. They want the US to talk to Iran directly and without any preconditions. As it is, though, it could very well be argued that the new US approach makes a lot of sense.