Iran's
top nuclear negotiator called two days of talks on the country's
nuclear program "positive" and described a new offer from six
international powers as a move toward Tehran's position--but Western
officials cautioned Wednesday no major progress was made and urged Iran to deliver on "results."
The talks, the first since June 2012, seemed to meet the fairly low objectives set by European and U.S. officials beforehand. Iran
appeared to engage with a new offer made by the six powers and new
talks were agreed fairly soon--at the level of experts in Istanbul on
March 18 and back in Almaty on April 5-6 for fresh top-level
discussions.
However, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Iran is yet to signal clearly it will curtail its nuclear activities in response to a Western offer to ease some sanctions.
"I believe in looking at what the results are," Lady Ashton
said, speaking after talks broke up. "We'll have to see what happens
next."
Talks on Iran's nuclear program have dragged on for almost a decade now, with three rounds of discussions last year making little progress.
The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany--the so-called P5+1--pushed Iran
to suspend its enrichment of uranium to 20% purity and take other steps
to prove its nuclear activities are, as it claims, for peaceful
purposes. The permanent security council members are the U.S., Britain,
China, France and Russia.
In return for the initial confidence-building steps, the P5+1
offered some easing of the tight web of financial, energy and other
sanctions that have cut Iran off from the global financial system and driven down the value of its currency, the rial, over the past year, officials said.
According to a senior U.S. official, the six powers asked Iran to suspend uranium enrichment to 20% purity and to stop enrichment at Fordo.
The Fordo site, near the city of Qom, is where Iran
has carried out most of its uranium enrichment to 20%, which has
undergone a majority of the processing necessary to manufacture fuel
pure enough to form the core of a nuclear weapon. It is buried deep
underground and seen as potentially invulnerable to attack.
Iran
also would have to take steps to ensure enrichment could not be easily
resumed, and inspections also would be tightened to ensure Iran's compliance.
Iran's
chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said the talks were "positive."
The P5+1 proposal was "more realistic comparing to what they said in the
past," he said.
He said both sides needed to show "a positive and constructive approach and taking reciprocal steps."
Mr. Jalili stuck to Iran's
traditional line that it has the right to carry out enrichment
activities--even to 20% purity. He said there was no "justification" for
demanding the closing of Fordo.
However, there was a hint that Iran
could compromise on 20% enrichment. "Whatever we need, we would pursue
that--whether it is 5% or 20%," he said. "Implementation of this right
... is based upon our need."
The P5+1 presented its offer to Iran
on Tuesday at the start of two-and-a-half hours of talks. That was
followed by bilateral meetings between the Iranian team and officials
from the U.K., Germany and Russia--the first bilateral talks Iran has held with these countries in several years. A further full session of talks followed on Wednesday.
However, there was no direct face-to-face meeting between the
U.S. and Iranian negotiators, a senior U.S. official confirmed. U.S.
Vice President Joe Biden said last month the administration was ready
for such talks, but that was quickly shot down by Iran's
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei. Many diplomats believe direct
U.S.-Iranian talks are critical to reaching a nuclear deal.
If Tehran takes the steps proposed, it would win some lifting
of nonoil related and nonfinancial sanctions, the senior U.S. official
said. In addition, the six powers could pledge not to push for fresh
sanctions at the UN Security Council.
A second Western diplomat said the sanctions that would be
lifted include restrictions on trade in gold and precious metals and on Iran's petrochemical sector.
In recent months, Iran
has given mixed signals on its nuclear program--stepping up its
enrichment capabilities while taking other steps that effectively reduce
its stockpile of 20% enriched uranium.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pressed the U.S.
and the international community to be prepared to take military action
against Iran's nuclear sites, potentially as early as the summer, to deny Iran from amassing enough weapons-grade fuel to produce a nuclear weapon.