Rice, Iranian Minister Exchange Words Over Lunch

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki exchanged pleasantries over lunch.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki exchanged pleasantries over lunch at a conference in Egypt on Thursday, a U.S. spokesman said.

"They said hello. It was not about substance," said U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit called it an exchange of words. "They are civilised people after all," he told reporters. (Reporting by Sue Pleming, writing by Jonathan Wright; +20-2-578-3290/1))