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Iran, World Powers Off To ‘Good Start’ In Nuclear Talks

Iran, World Powers Off To ‘Good Start’ In Nuclear Talks

By Patrick J. McDonnell and Ramin Mostaghim, Los Angeles Times

BEIRUT — High-level talks concerning the future of Iran’s controversial nuclear program got off to a “good start” during a three-day opening session in Vienna, participants said Thursday, though there were no major breakthroughs.

“We had three fruitful and extensive working days and both sides have the feeling that it was a good start for the difficult task we have ahead,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in Vienna, reported Tehran’s official Press TV.

Similar upbeat comments came from Catherine Ashton, the European Community’s foreign policy chief.

“There is a lot to do,” Ashton told reporters in Vienna. “It won’t be easy but we have made a good start.”

Iran is engaged in nuclear negotiations with representatives of six world powers — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

The aim is to build on last November’s landmark, six-month agreement hammered out in Geneva. In that accord, Iran agreed to some temporary curbs on its nuclear efforts in exchange for limited relief from international economic sanctions. Both sides arrived in Vienna this week expressing pessimism about the possibility of crafting a long-term settlement, but vowing to exert every effort.

The decade-long dispute about Iran’s nuclear efforts is one of the world’s major security concerns.

Iran says its nuclear activities are strictly for peaceful purposes, such as energy generation. But officials from the United States and other nations suspect that Tehran seeks the capacity to build nuclear weapons. International sanctions linked to Iran’s nuclear program have ravaged that nation’s economy.

Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, who took office in August, has heralded sanctions relief as a centerpiece of his plan to revitalize the economy. His bid to improve ties with the West has generated both support and suspicion in the Islamic Republic.

As expected, there was no indication of substantial progress in Vienna on the many thorny issues on the table. Much of the three days of talks appeared to focus on setting an agenda for future discussions, rather than focusing on specifics about Iran’s nuclear program.

But officials from both sides said they had agreed on a framework for upcoming negotiations, a modest achievement but still regarded as a step forward. Most observers expect the talks to last for months.

The next round of negotiations were set for mid-March in Vienna.

Among other goals, Western officials are reported to be seeking limits on Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium, thus making it more difficult to produce weapons-grade material. Negotiators are also expected to push for increased United Nations inspections of Iran’s nuclear sites.

For its part, Iran has said it will not dismantle its nuclear facilities or abandon its “right” to enrich uranium.

AFP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini

Iran, World Powers Restart Nuclear Talks Amid Limited Expectations

Iran, World Powers Restart Nuclear Talks Amid Limited Expectations

By Patrick J. McDonnell and Ramin Mostaghim, Los Angeles Times

TEHRAN — Both sides sought to tamp down expectations Tuesday as representatives of Iran and six world powers met in Vienna for talks aimed at crafting a comprehensive agreement about Tehran’s controversial nuclear program.

Much of the opening day in the scheduled three-day initial session was dedicated to working out an agenda and a framework for negotiations, reports indicated. The talks are expected to be difficult and to last several months, observers say.

“It is a big job, and of course we have a long and complicated negotiation ahead,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told journalists in Vienna, the Iranian media reported.

The negotiations are meant to build on a landmark interim deal hammered out in Geneva in November. In that accord, which went into effect in January and is meant to last for six months, Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for limited relief from international sanctions that have battered its economy. The agreement can be extended to allow time for additional negotiations.

The Iranian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, was meeting with diplomats from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. Iranian negotiators held bilateral sessions Tuesday with several participating nations, the Iranian media reported. On Monday, Zarif dined with Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief.

“Our objective is to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program will remain exclusively peaceful,” Zarif told reporters. “This is a common objective. … Now we are supposed to plan out how to do that.”

Iran says its nuclear program is strictly for energy generation and other peaceful purposes. Many Western officials suspect Iran seeks the capacity to build an atomic bomb. The issue has festered for a decade, heightening tensions between Tehran and the international community.

Representatives of the Obama administration have stressed that the talks are expected to be lengthy and complex, with little likelihood of an immediate breakthrough.

In both Iran and the United States, powerful political factions are leery of the negotiations, centerpiece of the foreign policy of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who took office in August. Rouhani has raised expectations among average Iranians that he will work to end crippling sanctions, providing a boost to the nation’s moribund economy.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said this week that he had little faith a deal would be struck. On Monday, he was quoted in state media saying the negotiations would “lead nowhere.”

Khamenei also accused the Obama administration of brandishing the nuclear issue to undermine and threaten the Islamic Republic. Still, the supreme leader, who has the final say on matters of state in Iran’s theocratic system of governance, said he supported the talks.

In Washington, many in Congress are likewise skeptical of the process and favor new sanctions against Iran. Two major U.S. allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, both regional rivals of Iran, are dubious about nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

AFP Photo