Iran nuclear talks set to resume, diplomats say

The Envoy

By Laura Rozen | The Envoy – 1 hr 33 mins ago

President Obama met with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan in Seoul on March 25, 2012. (Anatolian News Agency)Major powers are set to resume high-stakes negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program on April 14th, diplomats said Tuesday. The talks will probably take place in Istanbul, although they cautioned discussions were still continuing.

“We’re not going to get involved in a silly back and forth over venue,” one American official said Tuesday on condition of anonymity, because the talks have not yet been announced. “If the Iranians give us a final yes, expect an announcement shortly.”

The extensive discussions and effort required to even settle on a date and locale for the talks is but one sign of the daunting task faced by diplomats trying to reach an actual substantive accord with Iran over its nuclear program. Former Israeli intelligence chief Efraim Halevy warned this week of signs of a wider level of international diplomatic disarray that are ominous.

If the Iran talks fail, there will be “nothing else left” but military action, Halevy told Israeli newspaper the Times of Israel in an interview Sunday. And it’s “tragic,” Halevy said, that “I don’t see any great effort being made” by the so-called P5+1 to “prepare urgently and effectively” for those talks, the paper reported.

President Obama has repeatedly said he wants to give diplomacy a chance to resolve international concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, but warned the window to do so is closing. “There is time to solve this diplomatically, but time is short,” Obama said Monday in Seoul, South Korea. “Iran must act with the seriousness and sense of urgency that this moment demands.”

American officials have been discussing with allies a proposed confidence building measure they want Iran to agree to as a key test of whether talks are productive. The details of how the current measure might have evolved as it’s been debated with members of the so-called P5+1 group are not entirely clear; but an earlier version would involve Iran agreeing to suspend its 20% uranium enrichment activities, shipping out its stockpile of 20% enriched fuel, and getting in return isotopes to treat Iranian cancer patients as well as agreement to hold off passing a new UN sanctions resolution.

The apparent settling on Istanbul as a venue for the talks came after President Obama held a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the Seoul nuclear summit Sunday. Erdogan said he would be traveling to Iran after the meeting with Obama. 

“On my return from South Korea I will be visiting Iran, specifically on the issue of Syria,” Erdogan said Sunday after a meeting with Obama. “And there are also developments in Iran which were important which we wanted to discuss, and those have also been discussed in our meeting.”

Western officials only warmed to the idea of Istanbul for the talks after Iran suggested Iraq might be a good venue, former American diplomat and Iran expert Vali Nasr said Wednesday. “Iran suggests Baghdad for P5+1 meet,” Nasr wrote on Twitter Wednesday. “Suddenly Istanbul looks very attractive to US & allies.

More popular Yahoo! News stories:

• Syria agreed to ceasefire plan, U.N. envoy Kofi Annan says

• Dominique Strauss-Kahn faces preliminary charges in French prostitution inquiry

• Wife of Robert Bales: ‘He would not do that’

Want more of our best national security stories? Visit The Envoy or connect with us on Facebook or on Twitter.

Want more of our best political stories? Visit The Ticket or connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or add us on Tumblr. Handy with a camera? Join our Election 2012 Flickr group to submit your photos of the campaign in action.

  1. Pressure mounting on Iran over its nuclear programPlay Video

    Pressure mounting on Iran over its nuclear …

    FOX News

  2. U.S. President Barack Obama arrives to attend the Nuclear Security Summit at Osan Air Base in Osan, south of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, March 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

    U.S. President Barack Obama arrives …

    Associated Press

  3. Iran says expects nuclear talks on April 13

    Iran says expects nuclear talks on April …

    Reuters

  4. Swift Financial Cut Off for IranPlay Video

    Swift Financial Cut Off for Iran

    CNBC

  1. New bikini rules for London Olympics

    New bikini rules for London Olympics

  2. Young actress cast as new 'Carrie'

    Young actress cast as new ‘Carrie’

  3. Photos in Trayvon Martin case ignite debate

    Photos in Trayvon Martin case ignite debate

  4. Court may save parts of health care law

    Court may save parts of health care law

[ [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], ‘http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj’, ‘[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]‘, ‘ ‘, ’630′, ‘ ‘, ‘ ‘, ], [ [['Afghan security forces and police killed three', 3]], ‘http://yhoo.it/H9BcJE’, ‘[Related: Bales\' wife on his alleged shooting: \'He would not do that\']‘, ‘ ‘, ’630′, ‘ ‘, ‘ ‘, ], [ [['looking for fireworks between the opposing camps', 16]], ‘http://yhoo.it/GSvEsj’, ‘[RELATED:\‘It’s going to be a circus\’: Activists begin protests outside Supreme Court]‘, ‘ ‘, ’630′, ‘ ‘, ‘ ‘, ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 8]], ‘http://yhoo.it/GE6jSh’, ‘[RELATED: Obama\’s health care law passed 2 years ago, but where are we now\?]‘, ‘ ‘, ’630′, ‘ ‘, ‘ ‘, ], [ [['Witnesses said the gunman pulled up on a black scooter', 7]], ‘http://yhoo.it/GzwOIW’, ‘[Related: New York police tighten security at Jewish sites]‘, ‘ ‘, ’630′, ‘ ‘, ‘ ‘, ], [ [['test Zimmerman for alcohol or drugs', 11]], ‘http://yhoo.it/Gzn6VF’, ‘[Related: White House says Trayvon Martin is local issue]‘, ‘ ‘, ’630′, ‘ ‘, ‘ ‘, ], [ [['Trayvon Martin decked the Neighborhood', 7]], ‘http://yhoo.it/GUovUP’, ‘Click image to see more photos’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/2/61/261d2c36bccf0971c2734a4d4398aa5a.jpeg’, ’512′, ‘ ‘, ‘AP/David Goldman’, ], [ [['Can you create commerce in order to regulate it', 9]], ‘http://yhoo.it/GSgtu8′, ‘Click image to see more photos’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/78/778e2416573870cd705774e92403447d.jpeg’, ’630′, ‘ ‘, ‘AP/Charles Dharapak’, ], [ [['associated with such a small earthquake', 4]], ‘http://yhoo.it/GTco9z’, ‘Click image to see more photos’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/0/b4/0b493c1a47b6e3f97f8f48a2b251d7d4.jpeg’, ’630′, ‘ ‘, ‘AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger’, ], [ [['Fox News host Geraldo Rivera sparked outrage', 3]], ‘http://yhoo.it/GKMVTk’, ‘Click image to see more photos’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/2/7c/27c7367bc512d233ae1790b320a5e92c.jpeg’, ’630′, ‘ ‘, ‘AP Photo/John Minchillo’, ], [ [['The charges signed against Bales include', 1]], ‘http://yhoo.it/wZT5zV’, ‘Click image to see more photos’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/a0/7a07c51b2aa0f39b1a23355046d13870.jpeg’, ’512′, ‘ ‘, ‘AP Photo/DVIDS\, Spc\. Ryan Hallock\, File’, ], [ [['George Zimmerman, if I had a son', 6]], ‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/thousands-protest-fla-teen-death-1332387124-slideshow/’, ‘Click image to see more photos’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/22/d761a49f3fcc99080a0f6a70670053cd-jpg_150905.jpg’, ’500′, ‘ ‘, ‘AP Photo/John Minchillo’, ], [ [['Mohamed Merah', 10], ['prosecutor Francois Molins', 5]], ‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/four-dead-in-french-jewish-school-shooting-1332173151-slideshow’, ‘Click image to see more photos’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120321/2012_03_21t151508z_425380421_gm1e83l1sqs01_rtrmadp_3_france_shootings_raid.jpg’, ’630′, ‘ ‘, ‘REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier’, ], [ [['Shortly after he wrapped up his victory remarks', 2]], ‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/’, ‘Click image to see more photos’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg’, ’500′, ‘ ‘, ‘AP Photo/Steven Senne’, ], [ [['best understands the problems of average Americans', 2]], ‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/’, ‘Click image to see more photos’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg’, ’500′, ‘ ‘, ‘AP Photo/Steven Senne’, ], [ [['Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery', 7]], ‘http://yhoo.it/GB2RVy’, ‘Click image to see more photos’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/20/photo-1332257995646-4-0-jpg_171722.jpg’, ’630′, ‘ ‘, ‘AFP’, ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], ‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/’, ‘Click image to see more photos’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg’, ’500′, ‘ ‘, ‘AP’, ] ]

[ [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], ’28747556′, ’0′ ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], ’28744868′, ’0′ ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], ’28746030′, ’0′ ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], ’28731764′, ’0′ ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], ’28723797′, ’0′ ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], ’28712293′, ’0′ ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], ’28687424′, ’0′ ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], ’28667224′, ’0′ ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], ’28660934′, ’0′ ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], ’28647343′, ’0′ ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], ’28630306′, ’0′ ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], ’28493546′, ’0′ ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], ’28413590′, ’0′ ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], ’28413590′, ’1′, ‘Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ‘, ‘on Yahoo! Music’, ‘http://music.yahoo.com’ ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], ‘videoID’, ’1′, ‘overwrite-pre-description’, ‘overwrite-link-string’, ‘overwrite-link-url’ ] ]

Short URL: http://blackgossip.org/?p=10530

Posted by on Mar 28 2012. Filed under World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Leave a Reply

| Designed by Black Gossip