BICOM

Iran is reportedly dragging its feet over the next round of negotiations with the P5+1 countries – United States, UK, China, Russia, France and Germany – tasked with leading the international effort to resolve concerns over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

A series of talks between the two-sides has been conducted over the last year, but has produced no tangible results. A further round of negotiations had been expected to take place this month, with speculation over a suggested meeting in Istanbul. However, spokesman for European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, who is responsible for facilitating talks between the two sides released a statement saying “no decision has been taken. We have offered dates and venue in January and are still expecting an Iranian reaction to it.”

A Spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast, yesterday indicated that such talks would be conditioned on international recognition of Iran’s right to nuclear power, saying “We are always ready for logical, effective and constructive talks which recognize the rights of independent nations including Iran.”

Striking a similar tone, Fereidoon Abbasi, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, commented yesterday on an upcoming visit to Iran by representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) scheduled for later this month. IAEA representatives are particularly keen to inspect the Parchin facility south east of Tehran, which they suspect has been used to test nuclear weapons components. According to the Xinhua news agency, Abbasi warned “If the representatives of the agency … enter talks with pre-judgment, I don’t think that they can attain any result.”