The White House Still Seeks Dialogue with Khatami's Government - 2002-07-23

The White House rejects a report from the Washington Post stating that the Bush administration has abandoned efforts to find a way to cooperate with Iran's reformist government. The White House's denial came after the Washington Post reported that President Bush and his foreign policy team concluded that Mohammad Khatami, the President of Iran, and his reformist allies in the government are too weak to effectively change Iranian society. Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, told reporters in response to this report that there has been no change in U.S. foreign policy towards the Islamic Republic. He stated that the U.S. government continues to engage directly with Iranian officials where necessary and that multilateral contacts regarding political issues of interest to the U.S. will continue. Ari Fleischer emphasized that President Bush and his advisors reserve the right to comment seriously on what they consider Iran's support for terrorism and opposition to Middle East peace. He reiterated that the U.S. has repeatedly called on Iran to withdraw support from Hezbollah and other militant groups that oppose Israel with violent actions, but has not achieved success in this regard.