The United States and Iran held confidential talks about the future of Iraq prior to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, according to a new book by a top Bush administration diplomat.
Among the topics at the talks, Iran agreed not to fire at U.S. aircraft flying over Iran, and the United States wanted Iran to encourage Shiites to participate in forming a new government in Iraq, according to a report in The New York Times about the book.
“We wanted a commitment that Iran would not fire on U.S. aircraft if they accidentally flew over Iranian territory,” Zalmay Khalilzad, a former ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan and the United Nations, wrote, according to the Times.
Then-Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Javad Zarif agreed, he wrote.
“We also hoped Iran would encourage Iraqi Shiites to participate constructively in establishing a new government in Iraq,” he added.
Khalilzad’s book, “The Envoy,” is set to be published this month.