Diplomats See More Iran Talks After Nuclear Concessions
By Jonathan Tirone, Indira A.R. Lakshmanan and Kambiz Foroohar - Oct 16, 2013
Iran and world powers are likely to hold another round of negotiations soon, a sign that compromises offered by the Persian Gulf country over its disputed nuclear program are being taken seriously.
A new round of talks will be held in two or three weeks, according to European and Iranian officials attending meetings in Geneva, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are expected to issue a joint statement after today’s round of talks concludes, the officials said.
The discussions in Switzerland are the first since Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, and President Barack Obama spoke by phone last month in the highest-level contact between the countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Since his election in June, Rouhani’s overtures have raised expectations of progress in the negotiations aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program. Israel and the U.S. have left open the possibility of strikes against nuclear sites should talks fail and Iran moves to make a nuclear weapon.
Iran is prepared to take confidence-building measures by the second quarter of next year, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters yesterday, without specifying the steps. He said Iran, holder of the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, would be willing to postpone recognition of its right to enrich uranium until a later stage in negotiations, under the plan proposed yesterday.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-15/nuclear-timing-in-focus-as-iran-talks-head-into-second-day.html
