BICOM

Representatives of the P5+1 forum (United States, UK, China, Russia, France and Germany) met with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif yesterday in New York and the two sides agreed to resume negotiations in Geneva in October.

The meeting between Zarif and the P5+1 powers followed indications by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani that Tehran is open to dialogue with the international community over his country’s nuclear development. The P5+1 forum is charged with resolving international concerns over Tehran’s nuclear programme, but has so far failed to make any tangible progress with talks having reached a stalemate in April in Kazakhstan.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said that there was a “big improvement in the tone and spirit” from Zarif in comparison to his predecessors. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called yesterday’s talks “substantial” and said that the two sides had agreed to “go forward with an ambitious timeframe” starting with talks between senior P5+1 and Iranian officials in Geneva between 15-16 October.

However, senior representatives at yesterday’s talks also expressed caution and stressed the need for Iran to address international concerns through action. US Secretary of State John Kerry said, “Needless to say, one meeting and a change in tone, which was welcome, doesn’t answer those questions yet and there is a lot of work to be done.” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle struck a similar tone, saying that although a “window of opportunity has opened,” that “words are not enough… Actions and tangible results are what counts.”

Zarif described the meeting as “very constructive” and said that the process would need to result in the “total lifting” of international sanctions on Iran. However, Kerry later told CBS that “The United States is not going to lift the sanctions until it is clear that a very verifiable, accountable, transparent process is in place.” Iran has consistently denied international inspectors access to crucial nuclear installations.