Iran FM spokesman: talks with IAEA and P5+1 group moving into positive direction

Source :  Trend.Az

Azerbaijan, Baku, March 5 /Trend S.Isayev/

Iran's negotiations with IAEA and the P5+1 group move into positive direction, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said today at the press conference, Press TV reported live.

"The talks move into positive direction and the results have improved compared to the past meetings," Mehmanparast said. "Reciprocal measures should be taken to achieve desired results."

The spokesman underscored that Iran's nuclear rights for peaceful purposes must be recognized.

With regard to the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 group in Kazakhstan, Mehmanparast said that the most important thing is that general understanding was reached, and optimistic atmosphere was created.

"During the negotiations there were some responses made to the proposals Iran made previously," Mehmanparast noted. "Other measures may be necessary to reach the final agreement."

He further said that the new approach by the P5+1 group made "the proposals worthy to be addressed and explored".

"This however is only the first step, as there will be more meetings after the negotiations in Kazakhstan," he added.

Mehmanparast also touched upon some countries and media outlets and how they presented the Iran- P5+1 group talks' outcome.

"It is surprising that some Western and regional countries, along with their media outlets adopt different approach, trying to actually tarnish the atmosphere and posotive results of the negotiations," Mehmanparast said.

On Monday, the head of the UN atomic agency called on Iran to allow immediate access to the Parchin military base where it suspects nuclear weapons research took place.

Yukiya Amano said that this should be granted "without further delay" and without waiting for stalled talks to conclude an agreement on investigating other alleged "weaponisation" activities.

"I request Iran once again to provide access to the Parchin site without further delay, whether or not agreement has been reached on the structured approach," Amano told the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meeting.

"Providing access to the Parchin site would be a positive step which would help to demonstrate Iran's willingness to engage with the Agency on the substance of our concerns," he said, according to the text of his remarks at the closed-door gathering.

Iran and P5+1 group have wrapped up the nuclear negotiations in Kazakhstan on Feb. 27 after two days of talks.

The sides agreed to hold expert level talks in Istanbul on 17-18 March, which will be followed by another Iran-P5+1 talks in Kazakhstan.

In 2012, representatives of P5+1 group and Iran held three rounds of talks in Istanbul (April 14), Baghdad (May 23-24) and Moscow (June18-19). None of these meetings resulted in breakthroughs on disputed nuclear issues.

Previously talks between the "Six Powers" and Iran were not conducted for over a year.

The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies. The Islamic Republic has on numerous occasions stated that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, using nuclear energy for medical researches instead.

Despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment.

Expert: Iran can block up to one third of world oil exports in case of war

Source :   Trend.Az

In  case of an attempt to solve the Iranian problem by military force, the country can block up to a third of the world's oil exports, largely through striking tankers that come from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, professor at Kazakh National University of Defense Georgiy Dubovtsev believes.

He said it cannot be said that a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities will not bring costly ramifications. Everything that could be destroyed would be rebuilt within a few years.

"And no one is capable of occupying Iran, as the population of this country is unwaveringly patriotic. Everyone will resist foreign invasion. But the results of such military attacks can be disastrous not only for the Gulf region, but for the whole world. Attacking Iran would not only result in a large-scale military conflict, but would also destabilize the situation in the entire Middle East, "Dubovtsev told journalists.

He said in case of war, Iran will have more arguments in favor of possessing nuclear weapons and abolition of the IAEA control system.

"Secondly, the Iranian government has sufficient methods to influence the U.S. and Israel, such the termination of oil supplies, supporting anti-Israeli and anti-American forces in the region and organizing direct rebel attacks via Lebanon," he said.

Via its ballistic missiles, Iran could also strike a blow at the U.S. military bases in the southern Persian Gulf. Enforcement actions can provoke active measures for organization of the world oil crisis, and not only by suspension of oil exports from Iran, which will push up prices for "black gold." In addition, Tehran, speaking as a victim, can find allies amongst Muslim nations.

"It is still important to pursue the same goal for the P5+1 group: the Iranian nuclear program should be resolved only through peaceful means. And if the Iranian side presents a clear report in Almaty, the U.S. is ready for a diplomatic solution of the problem by discussing it at the multilateral level," the expert said.

Iran installs new generation uranium centrifuges

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Iran has announced that it started installing a new generation of uranium enrichment machines as experts from the U.N. atomic watchdog were holding talks in Tehran.

Iran started installing a new generation of uranium enrichment machines at its Natanz nuclear site last month, Iran’s atomic energy organization chief Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani said yesterday. The U.N. nuclear watchdog had told its member states that Iran had announced plans to install and operate advanced uranium enrichment machines, in what would be a technological leap allowing it to significantly speed up activity that the West fears could be used to develop a nuclear weapon.

Meanwhile, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and an Iranian nuclear team led by Tehran’s IAEA envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh began talks in Tehran aimed at reaching accord on inspections that would allow investigations into a possible military dimension of Iran’s nuclear drive. The discussions are taking place two weeks ahead of a new round of talks between Iran and six world powers in parallel diplomatic efforts, which are due to resume in Kazakhstan on Feb. 26 after an eight-month hiatus.

Iran, IAEA meeting ends, talks to be continued: envoy

  Xinhua | English.news.cn

TEHRAN, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The new round of nuclear talks between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was concluded here on Wednesday, with Iran's permanent representative to the IAEA saying that Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog will discuss new proposals in the next meeting, semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Some differences were settled and agreement was reached on some points of modality to resolve the alleged subjects over Iran's nuclear program, Ali-Asghar Soltanieh said, adding that both sides will consider new proposals made in the meeting and will put forward their opinions in the next meeting session.

The Iranian nuclear official did not elaborate on the details of agreements, proposals, the date or venue for the next round of the meeting.

Experts of the IAEA arrived in Tehran Wednesday morning with hopes to resolve the differences between the UN nuclear watchdog and Iran over the latter's disputed nuclear program.

Editor: Mu Xue

Almaty Nuke Talks to Reconcile Russian, EU Plans – Iran's FM

Source :   RIA Novosti

TEHRAN, February 11 (RIA Novosti) – This month’s upcoming talks on Iran’s nuclear program will be dedicated to reconciling Russian and European proposals on the issue, Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told RIA Novosti on Monday, just before leaving for Moscow.

Last year, Iran announced that it had put forward a five-point plan based on proposals outlined by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in 2011, Salehi said in an exclusive interview inside Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

Lavrov's plan had suggested a gradual easing of economic sanctions against Tehran in exchange for its increased collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Vienna-based global nuclear watchdog.

But the European Union has pitched a separate three-step plan, announced last month, for the nuclear program, Salehi said.

“Now the negotiating parties will try to find common ground between the two plans,” he added through an interpreter.

Salehi refused to elaborate on either plan’s details, but said that reconciling them would be the main focus of the meeting set for February 26 between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries involved in negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

The P5+1, comprising the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – as well as Germany, is set to hold the meeting in Kazakhstan's former capital, Almaty. The group last met in June 2012, but made no breakthroughs.

Salehi also confirmed that Iran would not, for the time being, take up the US offer of direct bilateral talks, floated earlier this month by US Vice President Joe Biden and rebuffed by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. But he added that such talks are possible in the unspecified future, if the United States gives up its “policies of threats and pressure.”

“You may say that their rhetoric has changed, becoming more positive. But it is still not enough yet,” Salehi said.

A number of Western countries have expressed fears that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at creating weapons, while Tehran insists it is purely peaceful and in line with international treaties.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry had said earlier that Salehi was set to hold talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Lavrov, but Salehi himself denied this in the interview, saying he is only going to Russia to participate in a meeting of a joint commission on bilateral economic cooperation.

A number of agreements, including ones on trade, oil and agriculture, will be on the table during the meetings, set to be held in Moscow on Monday evening and Tuesday, Salehi said. He declined to give details prior to the talks.

Bilateral trade between Russia and Iran stood at $3.4 billion, or 0.3 percent of Russia's total foreign trade turnover, between January and November 2012, according to Russia's Federal Customs Service.

IAEA to Israel: Iran nuclear row must be resolved peacefully

Source :  Maan News Agency

VIENNA (Reuters) -- The UN nuclear watchdog chief has underlined to Israel's president the need to resolve differences with Iran diplomatically, Yukiya Amano's office said on Friday, rather than war as Israeli leaders have mooted.

Israel, widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, has threatened possible military action if diplomacy and sanctions fail to prevent arch-adversary Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful energy purposes only.

Amano said in a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Thursday that the International Atomic Energy Agency had intensified "dialogue" with Tehran, the IAEA said in a statement.

That was a reference to the IAEA's year-long push -- so far fruitless -- to negotiate a framework deal with Iran allowing the Vienna-based UN agency to resume a long-stalled investigation into suspected nuclear weapons research by Tehran.

Director-General Amano "made clear the Agency's commitment to dialogue, and the need to resolve issues with Iran by diplomatic means", the IAEA said in a statement.

Analysts say any brewing or actual military action against Iran will dim the chance of Iran opening up to IAEA investigators and spur Tehran to expel IAEA inspectors tasked with ensuring civilian safeguards on Iran's nuclear activity.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an election victory speech on Wednesday, said preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear arms would be the next government's main challenge.

Iran, which denies Israel and Western accusations that it is seeking to develop the capability to make nuclear bombs, says it is Israel's assumed nuclear arsenal that poses a threat to peace and stability in the volatile Middle East.

Amano also "stressed the importance of a successful conference" on a Middle East free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, the IAEA statement said.

Talks on banning nuclear weapons in the region had been due last year. But the United States - a co- sponsor of the planned conference - said in November the meeting would not occur and did not make clear when it would take place.

US and Israeli officials have said a nuclear arms-free zone in the Middle East could not be a reality until there was broad Arab-Israeli peace and Iran curbed its nuclear program.

Iran and Arab states have criticized the decision to put off the talks, with Tehran blaming Washington for what it called a "serious setback" to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iran denies plans to show nuclear sites to diplomats

Iran denies plans to show nuclear sites to diplomats

DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran said on Tuesday it has no plans to show its nuclear sites to diplomats visiting Tehran for this week's Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, contradicting an earlier offer by a deputy foreign minister. "We have no specific plans for a visit to Iran's nuclear installations by foreign guests participating in the summit of NAM member countries," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said, state news agency IRNA reported. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh hinted on Monday that Iran might let visiting NAM diplomats tour the Parchin military base, which the U.N. nuclear watchdog says may have been used for nuclear-related explosives experiments.

Western diplomats had dismissed the tentative offer, made shortly after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) again failed to gain access to Parchin for its inspectors at a meeting with an Iranian delegation in Vienna on Friday. "Any tour the Iranians conduct for visiting NAM officials would be nothing more than a very, very bad publicity stunt," a senior Western diplomat in Vienna told Reuters. "It is the IAEA that should have been given access to Parchin." Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's representative to the IAEA, reiterated his country's determination to keep enriching uranium. "We will not suspend enrichment for even one second," the Iranian Students' News Agency quoted him as saying.

> Enriched uranium can be used to fuel power stations, or, if processed further, for nuclear weapons. Akhoundzadeh also said on Monday that U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, due in Tehran for the NAM summit, might be able to visit Iran's atom sites. Ban's spokesman denied any such plan. Iran is hosting the NAM summit, which ends on Friday, at a time when the West is trying to isolate the Islamic Republic over suspicions it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability. Tehran says its atomic programme has only peaceful aims. The IAEA suspects that Iran has conducted explosives tests in a steel chamber at Parchin relevant for the development of nuclear weapons, possibly a decade ago, and that it may have tried to cleanse the site in recent months. (Reporting By Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Alistair Lyon)