USA TODAY's Ken Dilanian reports from The Hague that senior U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke met briefly today with Iranian diplomats at an international conference on Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton did not join the meeting, but told reporters that Iran's presence at the conference is "a promising sign that there will be future cooperation."
Holbrooke's meeting "did not focus on anything substantive. It was cordial, it was unplanned and they agreed to stay in touch," she said.
Holbrooke also handed the Iranians an unsigned letter asking for relief for three Americans "currently unable to return to the United States from Iran." They are: Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared after traveling to Iran; Roxana Saberi, a journalist being held in an Iranian jail, and Esha Momeni, an activist whose passport has been confiscated.
Earlier, Iran's deputy foreign minister, Mehdi Akhundzadeh, addressed the conference and pledged to help the reconstruction of its neighbor, but criticized U.S. plans to send additional troops, Dilanian says.