Nuclear Talks With Iran Collapse
The New York Times reports:
ISTANBUL — Two days of talks between Iran and six world powers ended in failure Saturday, with Iran refusing to engage here on any concrete proposals to build confidence that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes and with no date set for another meeting.
Western officials expressed disappointment, but not surprise. And they reiterated that their proposals, including a deal under which Iran would ship out enriched uranium in return for nuclear fuel, were still in effect should Iran choose to open talks without preconditions.
The head of the delegation of the six, Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign policy chief, said: "Our proposals remain on the table. Our door remains open. Our telephone lines remain open."
But with no new talks scheduled, the Obama adminstration will now face new pressures to ramp up another round of sanctions against Iran.
The opening day of the talks, on Friday, was acrimonious, with a late-night plenary session becoming tense and irritable before an agreement to meet again on Saturday, senior Western diplomats said.
Iran refused to discuss specifics and continues to assert that it is in full compliance with nuclear agency inspectors, while insisting on its right to enrich uranium no matter what the United Nations Security Council demands.
“The Iranians still will not admit that they have a problem with the world,” one diplomat said late Friday night. “Every idea we put forward they find a reason not to take it up.” He said that the talks came very close to ending Friday night, but the parties agreed in the end to continue them on Saturday morning.
The six powers — the United States and the other four members of the United Nations Security Council, plus Germany — had asked for the extra session in order to shape a framework for further talks and confidence-building measures, the diplomats said. They emphasized that the six would not agree to any preconditions.
