CAIRO — The American government said yesterday that it is willing to talk to Iran if discussions deal only with Iraq, where the Bush administration says Tehran is undermining the Baghdad government and exporting deadly roadside bombs.

“We are willing to have that conversation limited to Iraq issues at the ambassador level,” Vice President Cheney’s spokeswoman said after he met with Egypt’s President Mubarak.

Lea Anne McBride said the willingness to talk with the Iranians about security issues in Iraq is consistent with American policy and does not reflect a new position.

Iran’s official news agency reported yesterday that the U.S. sought meetings in Baghdad to discuss security in Iraq. Iran reportedly received the request through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which often acts as an intermediary for the U.S. in the country.

“Iran has agreed to this [negotiation] after consultation with Iraqi officials, in order to lessen the pain of the Iraqi people, support the Iraqi government and establish security and peace in Iraq,” the staterun IRNA quoted Mohammad Ali Hosseini, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, as saying.

Ms. McBride said the comments appeared to refer to what the U.S. has called “the Baghdad channel … our willingness to talk to the Iranians at the ambassador level about Iraq-specific issues.”

She could not confirm specifics, such as whether the U.S. had made a formal request. A White House spokesman, however, said, “You could expect a meeting in the next few weeks” between the American ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and the Iranians.