Talking to the Iranians and Syrians. (sort of)

Some sort of "regional meeting" is going down in mid-March. It will be a Baghdad meeting hosted by the Iraqis which will include the UN Security Council members and "regional governments" including Iran and Syria. (WaPo, Reuters)

This sounds like a relatively low level meeting involving "envoys" and ambassadors, but at least it's a start. (although not much of one.)

Though it will bring together American, Syrian and Iranian representatives, the Baghdad meeting doesn’t signal a direct U.S. diplomatic engagement with Iran and Syria. A senior State Department official said Monday night that it wasn’t likely there would be separate bilateral meetings with Iran or Syria. Rather, the planned Baghdad meeting is an extension of the administration’s current policy of using the Iraqi government as the channel for discussions with Iran and Syria about Iraqi security.

I would also note that any progress from this construction assumes the Iraqis are working as "honest brokers" on our side.