Iran Is Accused of Delaying Resumption of Nuclear Talks
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Version 0 of 1. A spokesman for the representative of the six big powers in nuclear talks with Iran expressed irritation on Wednesday with what he described as repeated changes and delays by the Iranian side in finalizing the date and place for the next round of negotiations. Michael Mann, the chief spokesman for Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign policy chief who negotiates on behalf of the six big powers in the talks, said the group was still engaged with Iran on the question of when and where the resumed negotiations would be held more than a month after the group had proposed dates and a location. “Ever since then, we have been very surprised to see Iran come back to us again and again with new preconditions on the modalities of the talks; for example, by changing the venue and delaying the responses,” Mr. Mann told reporters in Brussels in response to a question about the talks. Despite public statements by Iranian officials that they are ready to resume the talks on the disputed nuclear program, Mr. Mann said, the discussions to schedule a new round of talks are ongoing. He also said, “We want to see Iran come back to the negotiating table as soon as possible.” Both sides have said in recent weeks that they expect an imminent resumption of the discussions, which were last held in Moscow seven months ago. Mr. Mann spoke as Iran’s official news media quoted Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi as saying Egypt had agreed to be the host for the next round of talks. There was no confirmation of his assertion from Egypt or the group of six powers, the so-called P5-plus-1, which are the five permanent members of the Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — plus Germany. The official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Mr. Salehi as saying that several countries, including Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Switzerland and Sweden, had also expressed readiness to be the host. The P5-plus-1 group has not specified where it would prefer the next round to be held. Diplomats have said privately that several locations have been proposed, including Turkey, where a round of talks was held last April — the first negotiations in more than a year. Western diplomats have accused Iran of repeatedly stalling on the talks, aimed at stopping the country’s uranium enrichment activities, which they suspect are meant to develop the capability to produce nuclear weapons. Iran has asserted that its enrichment program is for peaceful purposes. The United States and European Union have imposed increasingly tough economic sanctions on Iran as part of a pressure campaign to reach an agreement on the nuclear issue. Iranian leaders have said they will not capitulate to such pressure even as they acknowledge that the sanctions have hurt Iran’s economy. |