Iranians Leave Lausanne; EU Officials to Meet in Berlin

Iran’s state-run Press TV reported that the Iranian nuclear negotiating team will be returning home today. It was not immediately clear why the Iranians were leaving Lausanne now, as they were previously scheduled to hold meetings through Sunday. Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany on Saturday in London before heading back to Washington.

EU3 Foreign Ministers Will Join Nuclear Talks in Lausanne

Update from Iran Talks Lausanne:

- The French and German foreign ministers will arrive in Lausanne on Friday, and the British foreign secretary is expected to arrive on Saturday. They will join Secretary of State John Kerry who has been in Lausanne in the past four days negotiating with the Iranian team.

- The Iranian delegation, headed by the Iranian FM, will remain in Lausanne through the Iranian New Year, which will be observed at 11:45 P.M. on Friday local Swiss time.

- There were no explanations given by Kerry’s team, or the EU, of why the three EU ministers were asked to join Kerry at the talks, and if their presence there were a positive sign.

- There were no indications as of yet that the Russian and Chinese FMs are joining the talks as well.

- Iranian and American delegations will resume meetings at 9:30 Friday morning.


Photo credit: Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, center on left, and nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi, center on right, during an animated argument outside the conference room along with their aides after a morning negotiation session with Secretary of State John Kerry. Lausanne, 19 March (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

British FM to Visit Tehran

Iranian newspapers and news agencies, quoting foreign sources, are reporting that the British Foreign Minister David Miliband is to visit Tehran soon to offer a new incentive package on behalf of the EU-3 to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.

The reports indicate that Miliband will hold talks with President Ahmadinejad, Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki and other senior officials responsible for the country’s nuclear program.

On Thursday, President Ahmadinejad had flatly rejected any negotiations over the nuclear program with any countries or agencies other than the IAEA. Miliband’s visit would contradict that policy.