US and Iran begin direct nuclear talks

The US and Iran began direct talks for the first time in Geneva yesterday. Held in participation with the European Union, the meetings are to solve obstacles that impede drafting a final agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear file.

The Iranian delegation is headed by Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi while the US delegation is headed Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and representing the European Union, Assistant Secretary to Catherine Ashton, and her Deputy Helga Schmid.

Araghchi said there was a “gap between the parties about a few issues”, adding “the other parties should make difficult decisions in response to our demands and secure the rights of the Iranian people.” He hoped to “move discussions from outline to details and to begin drafting a comprehensive nuclear agreement.”

Meanwhile, Israel gave up, for the first time, its pessimism about the West’s ability to conclude a nuclear deal with Tehran.

Israel’s Director of military intelligence research General Itai Brun said Iran has committed to the agreement it concluded with the world powers in Geneva over its nuclear file in November which Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as “a historic mistake” at the time.

Brun said during a Security Conference in Herzliya near Tel Aviv that Iran and the P5+1 countries are likely to conclude a “permanent agreement during this year”.

However, Israel’s Minister of Intelligence Yuval Steinitz reiterated his country’s fear that any agreement could allow Tehran to produce fissile material to manufacture nuclear warheads.