It took some artful interrogation, but reporters at the State Department press briefing (PDF) were able to coax a definitive statement of U.S. policy towards Hamas out of the acting spokesman on Monday. Within minutes, U.S. policy went from:
As to whether we might be able to have a contact with an individual member of a perspective government, that might -- that will emerge from this process.... I am not in a position to be able to speculate for you as to who -- what individuals within the Palestinian Authority structure we might or might not have contact with...
To the much clearer and definitive:
I'm ruling out dealing with ministers of a Hamas-led government. I'm ruling out dealing with a Hamas government.
State also denied that a text of an IAEA presidential statement on Iran has been circulated. We know this to be false as we have reproduced a portion of the statement here. While they hope that the statement will be the result of the first Security Council meeting on Iran, the portfolio is not yet on the agenda in Turtle Bay.
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