about the aim of Iranian program . Watch how U.S. policy on Iran is changing '' The Bush administration had insisted that Iran first stop its nuclear program before any talks with the United States or its allies could go forward . Wednesday 's announcement is the latest step in the Obama administration 's efforts to engage the Islamic republic diplomatically after nearly three decades without formal ties . U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , briefly addressing the administration 's decision Wednesday , told reporters that `` pursuing very careful engagement on a range of issues that affect our interests and the interests of the world with Iran makes sense . '' `` And there 's nothing more important than trying to convince Iran to cease its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon , '' Clinton said at the State Department , where she was meeting Panama 's foreign affairs minister . Her comments came in response to a reporter 's question about engaging Iran . Washington , which has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980 , has participated in previous talks only as an observer . Wood would not speculate about whether a meeting involving Iran
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In a dramatic break from previous policy , the United States will join direct talks between U.N. and European powers and Iran over Tehran 's nuclear program , the State Department announced Wednesday . Wednesday 's announcement is the latest step by the Obama administration to engage Iran diplomatically . The Obama administration has asked the European Union 's international policy chief , Javier Solana , to invite Iran to new talks with the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany , State Department spokesman Robert Wood said . `` If Iran accepts , we hope this will be an occasion to seriously engage Iran of how to break the logjam of recent years and work in a cooperative manner to resolve the outstanding international concerns about its nuclear program , '' Wood said . Iran so far has refused Security Council demands to halt its production of enriched uranium , which it has said will be used to fuel nuclear power plants . The United States has accused Tehran of concealing efforts to develop a nuclear bomb , and the U.N. 's nuclear watchdog agency said it has failed to resolve questions