Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Photo: ReutersWorld powers and Iran will very likely meet again on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in February, shortly after a six-month deal restricting its atomic work goes into effect, a diplomatic source said yesterday.
The new talks will aim for a broad settlement in the decade-old dispute over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme that could ease the risk of mistrust leading to deeper tensions or even conflict in the Middle East.
The talks, led by the EU’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, will face the challenge of defining a permissible scope of Iranian nuclear work that will lay to rest western concerns that it could have military goals.
In return, Iran wants governments in the US and Europe to end painful economic sanctions.
The source said the first meeting in the new phase of diplomacy between Iran and the six powers – the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany – would include Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
“It won’t happen in January, because of the Chinese New Year, but it is very, very likely in February,” the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Senior diplomats from the seven countries will gather ahead of the meeting to prepare an agenda.
It won’t happen in January because of the Chinese New Year
Iran says its atomic energy programme is aimed at electricity generation and other civilian purposes, although past Iranian attempts to hide sensitive nuclear activity from UN non-proliferation inspectors have raised concerns.
The interim six-month agreement, which freezes Iran’s most sensitive atom work in return for some sanctions relief, is scheduled to go into effect on January 20, pending verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency that Tehran is meeting its end of the deal.
That accord appeared to halt a slide towards another, wider Middle East war over Iran’s nuclear aspirations, but diplomats warn it will not be easy to carry out because of long-standing mutual mistrust.
Partly in preparation for new talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow this week, Russian officials said yesterday.
“During his one-day trip to Moscow, Zarif will discuss bilateral and regional issues with top Russian officials. Also topics related to Iran’s nuclear programme will be discussed,” the Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Mehdi Sanai, as saying.