World powers agreed on Wednesday in Brussels to resume nuclear negotiations with Iran as quickly as possible.
A spokesperson for Catherine Ashton, the head of EU foreign policy and chief nuclear negotiator with Iran, told Reuters yesterday: “The [six powers] are committed to having another round of talks with Iran as soon as possible”, adding that the world powers are in consensus about finding a diplomatic solution for the nuclear disputes with Iran.
No further details were released regarding the outcome of yesterday’s meeting; however, Ashton’s spokesperson said the Iranian authorities will be contacted in the coming days.
In the past year, Iran has met with the world powers over its nuclear program in Istanbul, Baghdad and Moscow, but the talks have so far yielded no results.
U.S. President Barack Obama has expressed willingness to make an effort to wrap up the nuclear disputes with Iran through diplomatic channels.
Reuters reports that Ariel Ratner, a former Obama administration political appointee on Middle East issues at the State Department, said: “There certainly is a window to do a deal, but that window is closing, and closing fast. Ultimately it depends on the Iranians meeting their international obligations.”
The West suspects Iran’s nuclear program of having a military component. Iran has consistently denied the allegations and insists that its nuclear program is peaceful.
Iran’s uranium enrichment has been a point of dispute with the world powers. Uranium enrichment is a means to produce fuel for nuclear reactors; however, it could also be directed toward producing nuclear weapons.
Iran says it has a right to enrich uranium for its research nuclear reactor as an NPT signatory.
