BICOM

The P5+1, the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany, will test Iran’s willingness, under pressure of sanctions, to cut back its nuclear programme in talks today in Baghdad. Today’s meeting between Iran and P5+1 will be the second since diplomacy resumed in mid-April in Istanbul after a 15-month lull, which saw tensions rise between Iran and the international community.

According to reports this morning, the main goal of the P5+1 will probably be an Iranian agreement to shut down the higher-grade uranium enrichment programme that it launched in 2010. Iran has since expanded the enrichment process at an underground facility at Fordo, outside the northern city of Qom. A senior Western official quoted by Reuters said that the six powers – led by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton – would make Iran “a detailed proposal that will include confidence-building measures”. However, no details were given on what those measures might be.

In related news, on Tuesday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano said an agreement with Iran over nuclear inspections was expected “quite soon” following his recent talks in Tehran. He said the deal could increase Tehran’s co-operation with IAEA investigations into its atomic activity. He added that he had raised the issue of access to the Parchin military site – an IAEA priority in its inquiry – and that this would be addressed as part of the agreement’s implementation.

Numerous Israeli leaders have voiced their scepticism over the deal. In an interview with Army Radio this morning Defence Minister Ehud Barak said that although he does not consider world leaders naive on Iran, “they [Iran] seek to achieve progress and therefore are willing to compromise.” Repeating a phrase used previously by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Barak said that a nuclear-armed Iran is “not a matter of days or weeks, but not a matter of years either.” He added that “A nuclear Iran is insufferable,” and that actions regarding Israel’s security would be decided by its government.

The EU, the US and the UN have all imposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.