Tehran, Iran ? Iran offered Thursday to enter into talks with the United States aimed at stabilizing Iraq. The Bush administration said it would discuss the insurgency with the Islamic republic, but not nuclear issues.

It was the first time Iran has agreed to negotiate with the superpower it calls the “Great Satan” – a move that appeared to reflect the desire of at least some top Iranian officials to relieve Western pressure over Tehran’s nuclear program in return for help on Iraq, which is sliding ominously toward civil war.

But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other administration officials stressed that any discussions would not cover Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

Rice, speaking during a trip to Sydney, Australia, declined to provide a timeline for potential talks but indicated they would involve only the U.S. ambassador in Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad.

“This is not a negotiation of some kind,” Rice said.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said earlier that Khalilzad would have a narrow mandate dealing specifically with Iraq. He called the nuclear debate “a separate issue.”

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, said any talks between the United States and Iran would be limited to Iraqi issues. Larijani, who is also Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, said Khalilzad had repeatedly invited Iran for talks on Iraq.

Despite the caveats, any direct dialogue between Tehran and Washington could be the beginning of negotiations between the two foes over Iran’s nuclear program.

The U.S. accuses Iran of trying to build nuclear weapons and is leading a campaign for U.N. Security Council action. Iran denies the allegation, but would like to avoid any penalties from the U.N. body, which is expected to discuss Iran’s nuclear program this month.

In an effort to break an impasse over how to deal with Iran’s suspect nuclear program, the five veto-wielding nations on the Security Council and Germany will meet Monday in New York.