Eye on Iran: Iran and World Powers Agree on Framework for Nuclear Talks

For continuing coverage follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group.    Top Stories NYT: "In what officials described as a serious, workmanlike and conversational atmosphere, Iran and six world powers have agreed upon a timetable and framework for negotiating a comprehensive agreement to end the confrontation over Iran's nuclear program, the European Union's foreign policy chief and Iran's foreign minister said on Thursday. While details were vague and the two delegation leaders refused to take any questions at a closing news conference, they said that expert groups would meet early in March and the full delegations would meet here again on March 17, with the expectation that they will meet monthly. Officials refused to describe the topics for the expert meetings, but a senior American official said that 'every issue of concern to us is on the table,' from uranium enrichment and Iran's heavy-water reactor project to the country's alleged past nuclear military research and its ballistic missile program. All these issues, the official said, including clarifying the issue of Iran's past military research, are at least referenced in a joint plan of action agreed upon with Iran last November in Geneva. 'All our concerns must be met to get an agreement,' the American official said, defining Washington's goals as ensuring that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon and ensuring that 'the international community' can have confidence that Iran's nuclear program has no military aspect or intent, as Iran maintains it does not." http://t.uani.com/1mdEdim WSJ: "U.S. and Iranian diplomats still expressed differences on a third and final day of talks in explaining which issues would be included on the agenda in the months ahead. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said only Tehran's nuclear program, not any of its broader military capabilities, would be included in the series of negotiations scheduled in Vienna leading up to a targeted July deadline. 'Nothing except Iran's nuclear activities will be discussed in the talks with the P5+1, and we have agreed on it,' Mr. Zarif told reporters Thursday. Other Iranian officials have said in recent days that Tehran's missile program is a 'red line' and nonnegotiable. Senior U.S. officials, however, said Thursday that Tehran's ballistic missile program-which the U.N. fears is being developed to deliver nuclear warheads-would be included in the coming negotiations." http://t.uani.com/1nQm09x Fars (Iran): "Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a meeting with Palestinian Parliament Speaker Salim Zanoun on Wednesday, renewed support of the Iranian government and nation for the oppressed people of Palestine, and called for the liberation of the Holy Quds (Jerusalem) from the yoke of Israel. During the meeting which was held on the sidelines of the 9th Meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Tehran on Wednesday, President Rouhani said, 'One of the wishes of the Iranian nation is liberation of the Holy Quds.' The Iranian president regretted that the occupation of the Holy Quds still continues, and hoped that 'the Palestinian nation and the entire Muslim world will find a serious solution to this occupation through unity and integrity.'" http://t.uani.com/1oVZyzc     Nuclear Program & Negotiations Reuters: "The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will travel to Tehran on March 9-10, ahead of the next round of nuclear talks with Iran, a Western diplomat said on Thursday." http://t.uani.com/1jSFL37 Sanctions Relief Reuters: "Austrian President Heinz Fischer has been invited to Iran, a country keen to revive ties with the EU member that for centuries was Tehran's bridgehead to Europe. If he accepts, he would become the first Western head of state to visit since the election last year of relative moderate President Hassan Rouhani on a platform of relieving Iran's isolation by engaging constructively with its adversaries. Austria has not yet decided whether Fischer - perhaps accompanied by Austrian business leaders - would visit, a step fraught with political significance amid U.S. pressure on Western countries to limit business with Iran. 'The president has received an invitation to visit Iran,' Fischer's spokesman said on Wednesday, declining to give any more details given the delicate diplomacy at stake." http://t.uani.com/1nQjtw9 PressTV: "Iran and Austria will restart direct flights after a one-year suspension, says deputy head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization Mohammad Khoda Karami. Austrian Airlines will resume flights to the Iranian capital, Tehran, on March 12, Karami added on Saturday. 'The Iran-Austria air link has been suspended since the beginning of 2013 until now due to the Austrian airline's revenue problems, and after that the Islamic Republic of Iran's Airline (Iran Air) undertook to transfer travelers via the Tehran-Vienna route on its own,' the Iranian official said. As agreed by the two countries' national flag carriers, five flights will be run between Tehran and Vienna a week on a regular basis, he said." http://t.uani.com/1jg4LP3 Sanctions Enforcement & Impact Reuters: "A unilateral U.S. oil embargo on Iran is expected to remain in place even if a long-term nuclear agreement between Tehran and six world powers is reached that includes an easing of international sanctions, a U.S. official said on Thursday. The embargo pre-dates the decade-long nuclear dispute with Iran. Washington cut off diplomatic ties with Tehran during a hostage crisis shortly following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and began imposing sanctions around the same time. 'The American domestic oil embargo is expected to remain in place even if a comprehensive agreement is reached,' the U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity." http://t.uani.com/1gl1UBq Human Rights IHR: "Twelve prisoners were executed in four different Iranian provinces today. Six of today's executions were reported by official Iranian sources and two of the executions was carried out in the public. In the last seven days there have been 25 official and 14 unofficial executions in Iran... The state run Mehr news agency reported about a public hanging in Shiraz (Fars Province, southern Iran)... Another public hanging was carried out in the city of Khoy (West Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran) today." http://t.uani.com/1mdCTfs Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.