On February 14, in a continuation of Brookings examination of U.S. policy toward Iraq, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy hosted R. Nicholas Burns, undersecretary for state for political affairs, for a conversation on the future of U.S. – Iran relations as they relate to peace and security in the region. The session provided an opportunity to explore the directions of U.S. policy on Iran with one of the administration’s leading foreign policy officials.
Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns had recently returned from a diplomatic tour of the Persian Gulf region on the heels of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s visit to the Middle East, restating U.S. national security interests in the region and specifically the U.S. position with respect to Iran.