No Compromise on 20-Percent Enrichment – Friday Prayers Imam

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a Tehran’s Friday Prayers Imam, said in his sermons today that Iran will keep its 20-percent uranium enrichment program intact [Fars News Agency, 25 May].

“I speak on behalf of the Iranian nation that they will not be held to ransom,” the influential senior cleric added.

Khatami was referring to a demand by six major powers during the unsuccessful Baghdad Talks that Iran ends its production of the 20-percent nuclear fuel. The subject will be one of the key discussion points in Moscow during the talks in mid-June.

Iran enriches uranium to the 20 percent purity to provide fuel for Tehran's Research Reactor, which produces medical isotopes for cancer patients. The country already has a stockpile of the higher level fuel to feed the reactor for the next decade.

Baghdad Talks End in Failure

No Agreements Between Iran and Major Powers

Another Round of Talks Next Month in Moscow

The Baghdad Talks came to an end without producing any agreements between Iran and six global powers. EU foreign policy chief and P5+1 chief negotiator Catherine Ashton just held a press conference announcing that the two sides have agreed to hold another round of talks in Moscow on 18-19 June.

Iranian negotiators had earlier rejected proposals by P5+1 on the future of their nuclear program as unbalanced and offered their own counter-proposals that focused on lifting the UN, US and EU sanctions.

Baghdad was the sixth meeting between the two sides in the past five years (three in Geneva, two in Istanbul and one in Baghdad), with all ending in failure. The decade-old standoff seems to have survived yet another round of talks!

Baghdad Talks Will Resume Tonight

Iran and six global powers will hold the third plenary session of Baghdad Talks today at 18:00 local time. The decision to hold another session tonight came after a long meeting between Iran’s chief negotiator Saeed Jalili and P5+1 chief negotiator Catherine Ashton. 

Baghdad Talks: Third Round of Meetings Between Jalili and Ashton

Amidst contradictory news out of Baghdad on the end of the talks between Iran and major global powers, the Iranian official news agency IRNA reported that another round of meetings between Iran’s chief negotiator Saeed Jalili and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who has acted as the chief negotiator for the P5+1, is now underway. 

The first plenary session between Iran and the six powers took place on Wednesday afternoon local time and lasted for three hours, followed by a shorter session on Thursday afternoon. A series of bilateral meetings have also been taking place between individual negotiators, including the recent meeting between Ashton and Jalili. These meetings are to narrow down the differences between the two sides and lead to a communiqué announced at the end of the final plenary session later tonight, if there would be any such session.

Baghdad Talks to Resume Today

The Baghdad Talks entered an unscheduled second day on Thursday, reviewing what appears to be major differences between Iran’s positions and those proposed jointly by the six global powers. No details have been revealed, but the Iranian delegation has reportedly asked the P5+1 to make significant revisions to its joint proposal. An unnamed senior member of the Iranian delegation told AFP today that common ground between the two sides was not sufficient to result in an agreement in Baghdad or for that matter for another round of talks beyond Baghdad. [AFP, 24 May].

Iran’s official news agency IRNA, without revealing any details, has called the P5+1 proposal “outdated, not comprehensive and unbalanced.”  The major powers have reportedly asked Iran to suspend its 20-percent uranium enrichment program and give up the stock of the higher purity fuel in return for guarantees of receiving the fuel in future and various sweeteners, including the suspension of an EU insurance ban on ships carrying Iranian oil and easing Iranian access to aircraft parts.

Iran is believed to have asked for suspension of all sanctions imposed by the UN General Assembly, the US and the EU, and suspension of EU’s oil-related sanctions that will go into full effect at the end of June.

Today’s session is aimed to narrow the differences and produce a preliminary agreement on the gradual steps needed to be taken by both sides to end the decade-old standoff.

Meanwhile, Iran is reportedly ready to sign “quite soon” and implement an additional protocol with the IAEA, defining the agency’s access to Iranian nuclear and relevant military sites. 

Major Powers, Iran Presented Different Proposals at Baghdad Talks - UPDATE

The Iranian news agency ISNA reported that at today’s meeting, the six powers presented a “detailed” proposal to Iran, but apparently the Iranian side viewed it as “not balanced.” Then Iran presented its own “comprehensive” proposal containing five points that included “a range of nuclear and non-nuclear issues.” The two sides will resume their talks on Thursday.


UPDATE: "I believe we have the beginning of a negotiation," said a senior U.S. official of the talks. "We have got engaged ... we have had detailed discussions," the official said [Reuters, 23 May].

Photo: Baghdad Talks. 23 May 2012. Iranian delegation seated at right. IRNA

Baghdad Talks to Continue on Thursday

Baghdad Talks between Iran and the six global powers over the future of Iran’s nuclear program began at 12:30 PM local time and were adjurned after three hours. The talks will continue on Thursday. The representatives of the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany as well as EU foreign policy chief arrived in Baghdad early Wednesday morning and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The talks with Iran then began. Details on the content of the talks have not been released yet.

Baghdad Talks Are Set to Start

Baghdad Talks between Iran and the six global powers are set to start this morning. The talks are the latest of a series of meetings between the two sides on the future of Iran’s nuclear program. But up to now these meetings have been about setting up future meetings and their success or failure have been defined in terms of atmospherics, especially if the American and Iranian delegations were nice to each other or not. Baghdad promises to break away from this trend and offer the first consequential talks between the two sides.

Even before the Baghdad Talks got underway, we witnessed a likely breakthrough in IAEA’s push to have free access to inspect the country’s nuclear and relevant military sites. A so-called framework agreement, defining an additional protocol on IAEA’s access to the sites, nuclear officials and scientists and documents, were hammered out during IAEA director’s visit to Tehran on Monday and is reportedly getting ready to be signed soon. Such access would be key to an agreement in Baghdad to begin the process of ending the decade-old dispute with Iran over the nature of its nuclear program, which has resulted in serious economic sanctions against the country.

If IAEA-Iran additional protocol agreement is signed soon, as expected, then the Iranians, starting later today in Baghdad, will demand easing of the biting sanctions. The demand would create a challenge for the West. There were the sanctions, they would argue, that led Iran to accept the IAEA demands, and lifting them now would take away their trump card to push Iran to stop enriching uranium at purities higher than five percent and stop the operations at Fordo enrichment facility. Not easing the sanctions, however, would not entice the Iranians to make any further concessions. So we should expect an agreement in Baghdad that ties the easing of sanctions, especially delaying the oil-related sanctions that are to go into effect at the end of June, to the signing and implementation of the additional protocol with IAEA.

Such agreement could well lead to a more comprehensive agreement at Baghdad on an end to Iran’s production of 20-percent fuel and a guarantee by the major powers to supply the country the needed fuel for its nuclear research reactor in Tehran. Iran could also accept a swap agreement to exchange most of its five-percent enriched uranium with the higher purity fuel on an on-going basis.   

Baghdad could well become the beginning of an end to the decade-old standoff over the future of Iran's nuclear program.

No Sign of Breakthrough in Talks Between Amano and Iranian Officials

IAEA Director Yukiya Amano ended his one-day visit to Tehran without any sign of a breakthrough deal with the Iranians. Asked by reporters in Tehran about the expected framework agreement defining IAEA’s access to sites, nuclear officials and scientists and documents to see if Iran was developing the capability to make nuclear weapons, Amano could only say: "I will not go into details but the agency has some viewpoints and Iran has its own specific viewpoints." [Mehr News Agency, 21 May].

The answer was not convincing that a breakthrough in the talks had been achieved in Tehran. Now all the eyes will be on Wednesday’s talks between Iran and the six major powers in Baghdad. 

Time to Strike a Deal on Iran Nuclear Program - ORG

Oxford Research Group (ORG), a UK think tank focusing on sustainable approaches to global security, today released a timely report on how the impasse over Iran’s nuclear program could be broken and a deal in the nuclear talks could be reached during the visit today to Tehran of IAEA director and at Baghdad Talks on Wednesday. (Please read the report by clicking here.)

ORG argues that the mood surrounding talks on Iranian program has shifted, becoming more amendable to compromise and a deal can be struck today in Tehran and on Wednesday in Baghdad. The understanding on both sides to the principle of reciprocity is reached and there are concrete steps to end the decade-old conflict that can be taken in Tehran and in Baghdad. 

IAEA Director Leaves for Tehran

Seeking Agreement Before Baghdad Talks

IAEA Director Youkiya Amano flies to Tehran today for talks with Iran’s foreign minister, chief nuclear negotiator and other senior leaders on Monday. IAEA is seeking to expand its current agreement with Iran to allow unscheduled visits to the sites suspected of being centers for nuclear weapon research and development, specially Parchin military cmplex. Reuters is reporting that Amano wants to seal the deal on Monday, two days prior to an all-important meeting the six world powers and Iran in Baghdad. Such agreement will significantly influence the direction of the upcoming talks, and could be a potential breakthrough in the decade-old dispute over Iran's nuclear program.

Referring to suspicions about the existence of a military dimension to the country’s nuclear program, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Saturday that Amano’s visit could help “clear up the ambiguities.”

"We regard the visit by the agency's director general as a gesture of goodwill," said Salehi, adding that he hoped for agreement on a "new modality" to work with IAEA to “clear up the ambiguities" [ISNA/Reuters].

P5+1 Forge Joint Approach to Talks with Iran

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) have reportedly agreed to offer a joint proposal to Iran at the Baghdad talks on 23 May. The proposal would open a path to curtail any military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program and to ease the threat of war on Iran [LA Times, 18 May].


The six powers will offer to provide 20-percent enriched uranium fuel for Iran’s research nuclear reactor and in return Iran must halt the production of 20 percent fuel and operation at Fordo enrichment facility. Iran would also need to surrender its stockpile of the material.

The sanctions against Iran will be lifted if and when the country takes verifiable confidence building-steps and allow IAEA to rigorously inspect its nuclear facilities for any possible weaponization programs.

It is unlikely that Iranian representatives would accept the proposal with all its components during the Baghdad talks, needing the approval by the country’s supreme leader and the senior leadership. The joint proposal, however, ends speculations that there were major rifts within P5+1 positions on Iran.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had said during an interview with UAS Today earlier this week that the group had indeed reached a "unified position.”

“[We have reached] unified position that sets forth what we would expect to see Iran do on what kind of timetable to reassure the international community that it is not and will not seek nuclear weapons," Clinton said. “[The support of Russia and China] is a significant statement that the rest of the world is placing on a peaceful resolution of this problem," Clinton added.

Source: LA Times, 18 May 2010

IAEA Director to Visit Tehran

Rare and Unexpected Visit Days Before Baghdad Talks-
Raising Hopes for Resolution of Decade-Old Dispute

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano and top aides will travel to Tehran on Sunday on a rare and unexpected visit to the Iranian capital for talks with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and other senior officials, only a few days before the Baghdad talks between Iran and P5+1 on the future of Iranian nuclear program.

IAEA wants Iran to fully address concerns over possible military dimension to its nuclear program, a concern that will be at the heart of the talks in Baghdad on 23 May.

The last visit by an IAEA chief to Tehran was by Amano's predecessor, Mohamed ElBaradei, in October 2009. The IAEA and Iran held talks this week in Vienna and had been due to meet again on 21 May in the Austrian capital, but now the nuclear watchdog agency is sending its director to Tehran unexpectedly, raising hopes for a resolution to the decade-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran-IAEA to Hold Talks on Monday

P5+1 Watching

Iran and the IAEA will hold talks on Monday, their first in three months. IAEA chief inspector Hermann Nackaerts and Iran’s ambassador to IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh met in early February on the second of two fruitless IAEA visits to Tehran. Soltanieh has termed the resumption of the talks as proof of Iran’s determination to cooperate with the agency.

The IAEA talks will be closely watched by the P5+1 who will hold their own talks with Iran on 23 May in Baghdad. The West in particular will be looking for any sign of Iran’s serious intention to address IAEA’s alleged evidence of weaponization of its nuclear program.

Baghdad Talks Will Not Resolve All Issues – Hadad Adel

Gholam Ali Hadad Adel, the presumed next speaker of Majlis and a senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei today predicted that the Baghdad Talks on 23 May between Iran and world powers on the country's nuclear program would likely not resolve all issues.

"Iran expects the P5+1 group to put an end to the illogical sanctions in Baghdad, because the inefficiency of sanctions is proven even for Western leaders," Hadad Adel said. "They can show their goodwill through a trust-building effort by lifting the sanctions." [Mehr News Agency, 30 April].

“Although one should not expect for all issues to be resolved in Baghdad, we can assume the atmosphere of the talks will follow in the (positive) footsteps of Istanbul," he added.

Iran has sent signals suggesting it could negotiate over its 20-percent uranium enrichment process, but expects that Western-imposed sanctions to be eased off.

US Compromise Proposal Positive – Iran Official

The Los Angeles Times quoting an unnamed official at Iran’s foreign ministry reported today that Iranian officials consider the new U.S. position of allowing the country to continue enriching uranium at low-level purity as positive, but remain skeptical that such a deal will actually be presented in Baghdad on 23 May. US will apparently propose the compromise deal at the upcoming Baghdad nuclear conference allowing Iran to enrich uranium up to 5 percent purity in return for Iran’s agreement to forego any work on nuclear weapons and sign the additional protocol with the IAEA, allowing its inspectors to conduct unannounced inspections of the country’s nuclear facilities. 

The foreign ministry official speaking on condition of anonymity told the LA Times that if the deal were offered "it would be a good start."

"One thing I can tell you for sure is that Iran will never, ever close down the Fordo nuclear site," the official said, referring to the enrichment plant near the city of Qom. "But other issues such as 20% enrichment is open to negotiation. I can say Obama's proposal is good provided it is unanimously echoed (by P5+1)."

Nuclear Deal to Be Negotiated in Baghdad

Recent reports by the media, including Friday’s Los Angeles Times, suggest the broad outlines of a nuclear deal between Iran and the West to be negotiated during the upcoming Baghdad talks on 23 May. The West will accept uranium enrichment by Iran up to 5 percent purity and Iran would accept unrestricted inspections of its nuclear sites and strict oversight of its nuclear program by IAEA, commonly known as the additional protocol. The sanctions against Iran will begin to be lifted if Iran accepts the compromise and stars its implementation.

Meanwhile, Iran announced today that it will resume talks with the the IAEA on 13-14 May. Iran's ambassador to IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh told the IRNA Tehran's decision "shows the peaceful nature of all of its nuclear activities, while showing that claims against Iran are baseless."

Iran, West Interested in Russia’s Proposal to Resolve Nuclear Dispute – Russian DFM

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in Moscow today that Iran and Western nations have shown renewed interest in Russia’s “step-by-step” plan to resolve their dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. Under the proposal, Iran would take concrete steps to ease international concerns about its intentions and reassure the UN and the West that its nuclear program does not have a military dimension, and in return be rewarded with the gradual easing of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council and Western states.

Ryabkov announced that the Russian proposal was discussed at the talks in Istanbul on 14 April between Iran and P5+1. A new round of talks is to be held on 23 May in Baghdad.

“We are working in order for the six powers to have a consolidated position, and our ideas are given weighty consideration in this regard,” Ryabkov said [Reuters, 25 April].

Iran FM ‘Optimistic’ on Nuclear Talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said today he was optimistic about upcoming nuclear talks in Baghdad with world powers.

“The results of the meeting in Istanbul (on 14 April) were satisfactory and I am optimistic about the next meeting in Baghdad,” Salehi told reporters during a visit to Tunisia. Baghdad talks are scheduled for 23 May.

Salehi also downplayed Israelis threats to hit Iran's nuclear sites.

“Israel's threats to attack Iran are a bluff,” Salehi said. “But we take them seriously and are ready to defend ourselves.”

Iran Ready for Compromise on Higher-Grade Uranium Enrichment

Revival of 2009 Unraveled Agreement on Nuclear Fuel Swap

Signaling Iran’s willingness to make concessions regarding its higher-grade uranium enrichment program, the country’s foreign minister said today that Iran was ready to resolve the issues during the upcoming talks in Baghdad scheduled for 23 May if the West starts lifting its sanctions.

“If the West wants to take confidence-building measures it should start in the field of sanctions because this action can speed up the process of negotiations reaching results,” said Ali Akbar Salehi, the foreign minister. “If there is goodwill, one can pass through this process very easily and we are ready to resolve all issues (concerning higher-grade enrichment) very quickly and simply and even in the Baghdad meeting,” he added [ISNA, 16 April].

"Enrichment is Iran's right but we can negotiate on how we obtain uranium with different enrichment levels," Salehi said during an interview with ISNA. "Making 20 percent fuel is our right as long as it provides for our reactor needs and there is no question about that, but if they guarantee that they will provide us with the (enriched fuel) that we need, then that would be another matter.”

In 2009, the P5+1 and Iranian negotiators tentatively agreed on a deal whereby Iran swaps most of its inventory of lower-enriched fuel for the 20-percent fuel made in the West. The agreement unraveled when the conservative politicians in Iran strongly opposed it. Salehi’s comments today signal a new willingness by Iran to forge a similar deal in Baghdad.