GLOBAL POWERS are making renewed attempts to persuade Iran to enter a substantive diplomatic process and pull back from its disputed nuclear programme.
As talks with Tehran resumed yesterday in Istanbul, however, the Iranians offered no public indication that they are willing to change course.
European countries and the US are concerned Iran is developing a nuclear bomb, something they fear could ignite a wider conflict in the Middle East. Tehran insists its atomic programme is for exclusively peaceful means and is a key element of its drive to boost electricity generation.
Facing Iran in the Istanbul talks are the five permanent UN Security Council members – the US, France, Britain, Russia and China – and Germany. Their negotiating team is chaired by Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief.
The talks opened yesterday morning and they may continue today. They take place against the backdrop of strident anti-western rhetoric from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who insists he will not be making any concessions.
The engagement in Istanbul follows an opening round of talks last month in Geneva, which was the first face-to-face dialogue between the sides for 14 months.
Although there is little prospect of any immediate breakthrough, European countries believe Iran’s willingness to come to the table demonstrates that the adoption last year of tougher EU, US and UN sanctions against Iran is bearing fruit.
While Iran went to Geneva for two days of talks insisting its nuclear project was non-negotiable, a European diplomat said negotiators spent 80 per cent of their time together on that topic.
The global powers saw those talks as an introductory engagement, the diplomat said. At issue in Istanbul is whether Iran is prepared to demonstrate any readiness to work with world powers to seek a “diplomatic solution” to the problem and develop ways of achieving that aim.
Whereas Iran’s agreement to return to the talks this weekend is seen as a positive step, the diplomat said the key test now was whether the Iranians showed any willingness to step up their engagement with the process if further talks are to be convened.
“These negotiations are a test of Iran’s willingness to enter into and to keep its international obligations,” said British foreign secretary William Hague on a visit to New Zealand. “It is time for them to show in these negotiations that they are prepared to discuss the whole of their nuclear programme.” On this question there was no sign of progress yesterday, as an aide to Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili ruled out any suspension of the country’s enrichment of uranium. “Iran’s nuclear rights cannot be discussed,” said Abolfazl Zohrevand.
“So far this issue has not been discussed, has not been raised or mentioned by the other party.”
One possible option is for the global negotiators to offer Iran a fuel-swap deal under which it would exchange low-enriched uranium for fuel for a research reactor. However, two previous attempts to enter such an arrangement failed.
Low-enriched uranium can be used to produce electricity but uranium enriched to a very high degree can fuel a nuclear bomb.
