Iran must be getting worried:

TEHRAN, March 16 -- A ranking Iranian national security official said Thursday that Iran is willing to engage in direct talks with the United States about the political future of Iraq.

In Washington, the White House said it was prepared to open discussions with Iran -- provided that the talks were restricted to Iraq-related issues.

The comments in an interview by Ali Larijani, general secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, marked a striking public shift by Iran toward direct engagement with Washington at a time when the Bush administration has become ever more outspoken about what it claims is assistance by Iran to insurgent activity in Iraq.