Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Suzanne Malveaux and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Little by little, the Bush administration has been backing off on its refusal to hold direct talks with Iran. The U.S. State Department appears to be opening the door to talks just a little bit wider. Here's our State Department correspondent Zain Verjee.

Zain?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, after months of playing hard to get the U.S. is showing it's in the mood.

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VERJEE (voice-over): It may be coy. Just a wink, but the U.S. is flirting with Iran and Syria. The idea, talk one on one, but only about Iraq. Special adviser to Iraq David Satterfield heads to a conference this weekend on how to fix Iraq.

Iraq's neighbors, including Iran and Syria will be there. Satterfield says if we're approached over orange juice by the Syrians or the Iranians to discuss an Iraqi-related issue, we're not going to walk away. U.S. officials tell CNN the offer to talk is on the table. So far, Iran isn't showing interest. The U.S. accuses of Iran of arming Iraqi militias and insurgents with deadly explosives which kill U.S. forces. And the American military has detained Iranian operatives in Iraq.

U.S. officials say a regional conference will put Iran's activities in the spotlight...

VERJEE: Iranian officials say they helped the U.S. in Afghanistan in 2001 but later got burned when President Bush stuck them in Axis of Evil.

AFSHIN MOLAVI, NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION: They're going to come into these talks with heavy doses of caution. There is a certain amount of hope that these talks will expand beyond the limited issue of Iraq...

For the complete transcript, please visit CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer website.