Rice: US talks will not cover nuclear standoff

Any possible dialogue between American diplomats and Iranian officials on stabilizing Iraq will not cover Tehran's nuclear ambitions, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday. Speaking in Sydney, Rice said talks with Tehran on Iraq's slide toward civil war "might be useful," but asked if the discussions also could cover Iran's nuclear program, she said it would not. "Those talks are limited to questions concerning the country at issue, so in this case it would be limited to questions concerning Iraq," she said. Iran offered Thursday to enter into talks with the United States aimed at stabilizing Iraq, the first time the Islamic republic has agreed to negotiate with the superpower that it calls the "Great Satan."