Politics: As the Government Gently Distances Us from Washington, Jack Straw's Low-Key Diplomacy in Iran Has Become Crucial to the Future of British Foreign Policy

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Which world capitals has Jack Straw visited most in his four years as Foreign Secretary? Numbers one and two are Brussels and Washington; no surprise there. Three is Tehran. He has been there five times, sometimes on his own and sometimes in with the French and Germans, trying to persuade the Iranian authorities to comply with the strictures of the International Atomic Energy Agency--five times to a country that is top of the US government's latest axis of evil list.

Operation Bush Distance, first alluded to in this column a year ago, proceeds steadily but stealthily. It is not advertised, but on a host of issues the transatlantic symmetry is not what it was. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that London will not be one of the …