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Reports: P5+1 to offer limited deal as Iran nuclear talks resume today
Representatives of the P5+1 powers (US, UK, China, Russia, France and Germany) and Iranian officials will meet in Geneva today to resume talks over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Earlier this week, Wendy Sherman, the United States’ lead negotiator told Israeli television that the P5+1 talks with Iran, which resumed last month are “for the first time a serious and substantive negotiation.” Yesterday, US National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan shed further light on the talks saying that “In general, the P5+1 is focused on developing a phased approach that in the first step halts Iran’s nuclear program from moving forward and potentially rolls back parts of it.” However, she assured that “Core sanctions architecture would be maintained until there is a final, comprehensive, verifiable agreement that resolves the international community’s concerns.”
Speaking to Reuters, an unnamed senior US official said the P5+1 would this week offer Iran “very limited, temporary, reversible sanctions relief,” for six month period in return for “an initial understanding that stops Iran’s nuclear program from moving forward.” AFP reports an unnamed Israeli official said that Iran will be asked to suspend twenty per cent uranium enrichment and slow down activity at the Arak heavy water reactor. The same official is quoted saying Israel will “strongly oppose” such a deal, arguing that the international community’s demands could be far more ambitious, commenting “Iran is feeling the pressure and the P5+1 has the capability to compel Iran to end all enrichment and to stop construction of the facility in Arak.” Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that a deal which only partially halts Iranian nuclear development would allow Tehran to retain the means of enrichment.
Meanwhile, Maariv this morning says Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif told the newspaper’s correspondent in Paris that no military option has ever succeeded and that there is no room for the use of force in resolving the impasse over Iranian nuclear development.