Holding out the prospect of the highest level face-to-face contact since the 1979 Islamic revolution that overthrew the Shah, she said: “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the ministers meet at some point.”

Charles Kupchan, an expert on Iran at the Council on Foreign Relations, said: “It’s a big deal for the secretary of state to say we’ll talk to you. There has been a big changing of the guard in the administration and Condoleezza Rice has strengthened her hold.”

The new US strategy was first discussed two months ago, when Rice told President George W Bush over lunch that America was losing the support of its European allies.

Its main purpose is to isolate the mullahs. A senior administration official said: “If Iran rejects the package, it will be clear they are intent on acquiring a nuclear capability.”

Some neoconservatives believe this is a precondition for gathering support for toppling the regime and ultimately military strikes, should other tactics fail. Washington is pursuing a dual-track strategy of pushing Iran into a corner diplomatically while maintaining pressure for regime change.

This summer the State Department plans to open a listening post inside its US embassy in Dubai to monitor events in Iran. America’s top State Department negotiator on Iran, Nicholas Burns, recently compared it to the Riga station in Latvia after the Russian revolution, when America had no diplomatic contact with Moscow.

Recruiting for the Dubai “Regional Presence Office” began in March. According to a State Department document, the head of the Dubai station will be expected to “assist in locating pro-democracy groups inside and outside Iran” and “seek ways to use State Department funding to support Iranian political and civic operations”.

Other missions are being installed for Farsi speakers in Baku, Istanbul, Frankfurt and London to liaise with opposition groups.

The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, insists foreign pressure will not force Iran to give up its nuclear research. “The Iranian nation won’t give in to talks that contain threats or conditions that seek to deprive our definite right,” he said in a speech last night.

The Iranians are expecting Javier Solana, the European Union’s top foreign affairs official, to fly to Tehran this week to urge them to accept the offer by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany of a package of incentives to halt its uranium enrichment programme.

Washington’s offer of direct talks has dismayed many Iranian dissidents. One opposition figure in Paris said: “We visited Washington and felt there was an agreement that the regime in Tehran must be stopped. Now we don’t know. Ahmadinejad will feel stronger.”

Dissidents are afraid Washington’s support for regime change is being traded for talks. Akbar Atri, an Iranian student leader in exile, said: “What the Islamic republic wants from these negotiations is a promise of security. This means the United States and others would have to give up even verbal support for democrats in Iran.”

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