Iran hails turning point in nuclear talks

Six-nation group offers concessions including sanctions relief in return for acceptance of limits on uranium enrichment.


Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, in Almaty. Photograph: Stanislav Filippov/AFP/Getty Images

Iran has declared that negotiations with a group of world powers have reached a "turning point" after it was offered a series of concessions, including sanctions relief on gold and petrochemical exports, in return for acceptance of limits on uranium enrichment.

Two days of talks in the Kazakh city of Almaty between Iran and a six-nation negotiating group ended on Wednesday with an agreement to hold further meetings aimed at finalising a deal.

In return for a limited relaxation of sanctions, the six-nation group – the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China – maintained its insistence that Iran stop making 20%-enriched uranium, which is relatively easy to turn into weapons-grade material.

However, it relaxed its demand that all of Iran's stockpile of about 170kg of 20%-enriched uranium should be shipped out of the country, allowing Iran to retain enough to fuel a research reactor in Tehran.

The six powers also softened the stipulation put forward at a series of abortive meetings last year that an underground enrichment plant at Fordow, in central Iran, should be shut down.
In Almaty the Iranians were asked only to "reduce the readiness" of Fordow while accepting more intrusive monitoring of the facility by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a western diplomat said.

Other officials said enrichment at Fordow would have to be suspended and demonstrable steps taken to ensure it could not be quickly restarted.

The main financial and oil sanctions on Iran would stay in place, but sanctions relief on gold and other precious metals would allow it to sidestep some banking restrictions. The ability to export petrochemical products would allow it to boost foreign currency earnings and potentially increase its domestic oil refining capacity.

The chief of the Iranian delegation, Saeed Jalili, welcomed the offer, saying: "We consider these talks a positive step which could be completed by taking a positive and constructive approach and taking reciprocal steps … We believe this is a turning point."

Nuclear experts from all sides are due to meet in Istanbul on 18 March to hammer out details of the proposal, and another meeting of senior diplomats in Almaty is scheduled for 5 April.

A western diplomat said: "I think we now have traction to get into proper detailed negotiations. This is the first time we have put sanctions relief on the table. Its more than a gesture, it's sending a message. We have shown we are listening and are serious without giving up the major lever we have, which is the oil embargo."

The diplomat said a deal on Iran's 20% uranium could open the way to a more comprehensive agreement later on in which the oil and financial sanctions could be lifted in return for permanent limits on Iran's nuclear programme and robust IAEA monitoring.

"It's more for less," said Shashank Joshi, the author of a study on the Iranian nuclear negotiations, The Permanent Crisis. "It's offering more sanctions relief and asking less of Iran, which is a move in the right direction that many of us have been calling for. What is just as important is the Iranian reaction. They are talking in the same terms about the same things rather than just putting forward diametrically opposed positions."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013...-nuclear-talks

Well, west are gradually learning how to negotiate with Iran.

Originally Posted by hamidreza

Well, west are gradually learning how to negotiate with Iran.

Are they?

Isn't it usually Iran that ignores agreements and does its own thing i.e breaching UN sactions?

Will Iran actually do as agreed? It would certainly make a change.

Originally Posted by Capt Frogman

Are they?

Isn't it usually Iran that ignores agreements and does its own thing i.e breaching UN sactions?

Will Iran actually do as agreed? It would certainly make a change.

I recommend you to read the provisions of the NPT and then you will find who is ignoring the agreements.

Based on NPT every country can have enrichment technology in each level if they dont use it for war weapons.

Iran aren't using it for "war weapons"? Silly me.

Originally Posted by Capt Frogman

Iran aren't using it for "war weapons"? Silly me.

Yes Iran aren't. As I told you before west media some times say lie and you should be smart enough to distinguish the different between lie and truth,
So if you want to know truth, read the provisions of the NPT.

Originally Posted by hamidreza

Yes Iran aren't. As I told you before west media some times say lie and you should be smart enough to distinguish the different between lie and truth,
So if you want to know truth, read the provisions of the NPT.

Why is your country so secretive about it then?

"Iran is a party to the NPT but was found in non-compliance with its NPT safeguards agreement and the status of its nuclear program remains in dispute."

"the IAEA launched an investigation that concluded in November 2003 that Iran had systematically failed to meet its obligations under its NPT safeguards agreement to report those activities to the IAEA."

Originally Posted by Capt Frogman

Why is your country so secretive about it then?

"Iran is a party to the NPT but was found in non-compliance with its NPT safeguards agreement and the status of its nuclear program remains in dispute."

"the IAEA launched an investigation that concluded in November 2003 that Iran had systematically failed to meet its obligations under its NPT safeguards agreement to report those activities to the IAEA."

Again Zionist media propaganda!

First the rules and laws of a country is usually fair but corrupt judges and police make them unfair. We have the same condition in IAEA. Because of that I recommended you to read the provisions of the NPT not the reports which were prepared by mercenary experts who are affected by west.

second the west problem is not that Iran is planning to makes nukes. The west problem is Iran is going toward a technology which is dual-use, peaceful and military. And Iran will have nukes making capability if she want in future. But having a capability doesn't mean your are forbidden to achieve it. Every state who are a member of IAEA could have enrichment technology, even 99%. Such as Netherlander or Germany as I can remember. The same as space sciences. you can use it for unconventional missiles and also use it to send satellite to space,

Yes all animals are equal, but pigs are more equal than others.

Originally Posted by hamidreza

Again Zionist media propaganda!

First the rules and laws of a country is usually fair but corrupt judges and police make them unfair. We have the same condition in IAEA. Because of that I recommended you to read the provisions of the NPT not the reports which were prepared by mercenary experts who are affected by west.

second the west problem is not that Iran is planning to makes nukes. The west problem is Iran is going toward a technology which is dual-use, peaceful and military. And Iran will have nukes making capability if she want in future. But having a capability doesn't mean your are forbidden to achieve it. Every state who are a member of IAEA could have enrichment technology, even 99%. Such as Netherlander or Germany as I can remember. The same as space sciences. you can use it for unconventional missiles and also use it to send satellite to space,

Yes all animals are equal, but pigs are more equal than others.

No, it's not "Zionist media propaganda". It's what the IAEA said or are they also biased?

Why was the underground nuclear plant kept secret until "the west" discovered it after monitoring it for months?

Originally Posted by Capt Frogman

No, it's not "Zionist media propaganda". It's what the IAEA said or are they also biased?

Why was the underground nuclear plant kept secret until "the west" discovered it after monitoring it for months?

Underground or above ground it is not against NPT rules. And you are allowed to not announce your nuclear facilities places till six month before it operation. West found Fordow 18 month before it's operation and announced it sooner. what is the problem?
read the NPT rules.

Originally Posted by hamidreza

Underground or above ground it is not against NPT rules. And you are allowed to not announce your nuclear facilities places till six month before it operation. West found Fordow 18 month before it's operation and announced it sooner. what is the problem?
read the NPT rules.

But is the IAEA biased?

I never said it was against NPT rules! Why had such great effort been taken to conceal it?

" For reasons set out in previous reports to the Board of Governors, Iran remains bound by the revised Code 3.1 of the Subsidiary Arrangements General Part to which it had agreed in 2003,7 which requires that the Agency be provided with preliminary design information about a new nuclear facility as soon as the decision to construct or to authorize construction of the facility is taken. The revised Code 3.1 also requires that Iran provide the Agency with further design information as the design is developed early in the project definition, preliminary design, construction and commissioning phases.8 Even if, as stated by Iran, the decision to construct the new facility at the Fordow site was taken in the second half of 2007, Iran’s failure to notify the Agency of the new facility until September 2009 was inconsistent with its obligations under the Subsidiary Arrangements to its Safeguards Agreement."

http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Doc...gov2009-74.pdf