Iran and world powers gathered today for their first meeting in 15 months hoping to ease the tensions over Tehran’s nuclear programme, but with tough talk on both sides making major progress look unlikely.
According to officials close to the negotiations between Iran and the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany (the P5+1), the most that can be hoped for is an agreement to hold more detailed discussions in a few weeks.
“Iran’s most recent response specifically said that they are prepared to sit down and talk about the nuclear issue. For us (Saturday) is about testing that,” one envoy said ahead of the talks from 0800 GMT between top diplomats.
“We don’t expect to get a lot of detail ... but it will be about possibly meeting again in four to six weeks time if we can, when we will get into that detail,” the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
The main concern of the international community is Iran’s growing capacity to enrich uranium, which can be used in power generation and other peaceful uses but, when purified further, for a nuclear weapon.
Of particular worry is the formerly secret Fordo site in a mountain bunker near the holy city of Qom, currently enriching to 20 per cent purity but which experts say could be reconfigured to produce 90 per cent weapons grade material.
Fordo’s expansion, plus a major UN atomic agency report in November on alleged “weaponisation” efforts, have led to tighter EU and US sanctions on Iran’s oil sector due to bite this summer and talk of Israeli military strikes.