Eye on Iran: Deadlock Continues at Iran-6-Power Nuclear Talks

Join UANI           Top Stories AP: "Two days of nuclear negotiations between Iran and six world powers appear to have made little progress in narrowing differences standing in the way of reaching an agreement by July 20, two diplomats said Thursday... Two diplomats told The Associated Press that Tehran wants to keep the almost 20,000 enriching centrifuges it now operates or has on standby. And it wants to ultimately expand the number to 150,000 - or replace them with advanced models that have that same output. The U.S. demands that Iran run no more than a few hundred centrifuges, dismantle all on standby and agree to tight limits on how much enriched uranium it can stockpile." http://t.uani.com/UQ2Nhd AFP: "Iran's position in critical nuclear talks is 'worrying', with no change on most issues, a Western diplomat said Thursday on the sidelines of negotiations in Vienna. 'It is worrying that there is no evolution on the part of the Iranians on most subjects, including sanctions,' the diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity. Differences between the two sides on uranium enrichment, the central issue not only in this fifth round of talks but for the past decade, remain 'major,' the envoy said. He added: 'We have drafted little bits (of an accord) but the complex issues haven't really been addressed in the drafting process.'" http://t.uani.com/1lCeRgZ NYT: "The Iranian leadership had a message for Washington on Wednesday: If President Obama really wants some cooperation on stabilizing Iraq, he might first think about speeding forward with a permanent deal over Iran's nuclear capability. That statement by President Hassan Rouhani's chief of staff, Mohammad Nahavandian, to reporters at an international relations forum in Oslo, hardly surprised the American and European negotiators. They are growing skeptical that a deal both Mr. Obama and Mr. Rouhani can embrace - and sell at home - is possible by a deadline agreed upon with the Iranians last year, now a little more than a month away. 'The Iranians desperately needed leverage,' one European negotiator said Wednesday after weeks of arguments over how many centrifuges Iran would be permitted to keep spinning, and how fast the sanctions that have so crippled the economic lives of ordinary Iranians could be lifted. 'They clearly think the American fear of getting sucked back into Iraq may be just the thing, at just the right moment.'" http://t.uani.com/1sqBxol     Nuclear Program & Negotiations AFP: "Racing against the clock, nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers appeared tough going Thursday with both sides warning of major differences as they tried to draft an accord. The hoped-for agreement would see Iran scale back its nuclear programme, in order to ease fears Iran wants atomic weapons, and avert a conflict in the Middle East. Iran, which has seen its relations with the West thaw somewhat since the 2013 election of President Hassan Rouhani, wants painful UN and Western sanctions lifted. It denies wanting the bomb. On a fourth day of talks in Vienna, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany have started haggling over the wording of a deal, officials said. But beyond agreeing a title for the accord, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that 'fundamental differences' were dividing the two sides. On Wednesday negotiations 'slowly' began to draft the final agreement, 'but there are still many differences' over the text, ISNA news agency quoted Zarif as saying from Vienna. He added that the talks had been 'very difficult'." http://t.uani.com/1lJeKKK Bloomberg: "Iran cautioned the U.S. and European powers against sticking to rigid negotiating positions that might torpedo a chance to de-escalate their nuclear dispute... 'We hope the past experiences will prove to be helpful in order to avoid similar mistakes,' Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said late yesterday in a briefing broadcast by Press TV. 'It's not clear when such a similar opportunity would emerge again for the West.' ... Araghchi invoked Iran's March 2005 proposal to European diplomats at a Paris meeting to underscore the potential costs of not coming to an agreement. At the time, Iran offered to cap the number of installed centrifuges to 3,000 until additional confidence was built, said Peter Jenkins, a former U.K. ambassador who participated in the talks... 'March 2005 was the high point of good opportunities,' he said in a telephone interview. 'We had exaggerated hopes and expectations and thought that it we stayed firm, they would eventually cave in to our conditions.' 'Their policy of zero enrichment caused that opportunity to be lost,' Araghchi said. 'There's a similar situation now, a similar condition.'" http://t.uani.com/1jAPyX1 Reuters: "He is believed to top the list of elusive Iranian officials the U.N. nuclear watchdog wants to query. Exiled foes of the Islamic state cite him as the mastermind of clandestine efforts to design an atomic bomb. Tehran is mum about him, while denying having any nuclear arms agenda. Probably living under tight security, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh did not join this week's talks in Vienna between Iran and six world powers directed at striking a deal by late July to end a decade-old dispute over Tehran's nuclear aspirations.  But Western officials and experts think the shadowy military figure played a pivotal role in suspected Iranian work in the past to develop the means to assemble a nuclear warhead behind the facade of a declared civilian uranium enrichment program. They say shedding light on his alleged activities is critical for understanding how far Iran advanced and ensuring they are not continuing now, which the West wants any settlement with the Islamic Republic to guarantee... 'Dr Fakhrizadeh is considered to be the leader of Iran's nuclear weaponization program that existed before 2003' said Gary Samore, until last year the top nuclear proliferation expert on U.S. President Barack Obama's national security staff. 'The IAEA would like to interview him about his past and current activities,' he said." http://t.uani.com/1nR3tMY LAT: "Iran is easing a key demand in negotiations with world powers over its disputed nuclear program, boosting prospects for the top-priority agreement that diplomats are racing to finish within a month. Abbas Araqchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, acknowledged amid a week of negotiations in Vienna that Tehran now accepts the principle that as part of the deal sanctions on its economy would be gradually eased as Iran gradually complies with limits on its nuclear activities. Iran's official line has been that it would require an immediate lifting of all of the sanctions at the time the deal is signed." http://t.uani.com/1lZorJV Sanctions Relief Reuters: "India plans to clear some pending oil payments to Iran through the United Arab Emirates central bank, three sources with knowledge of the matter said, under a new payment system that would allow Washington to track the flow of funds closely. The payment of $1.65 billion under the revised mechanism includes a step in which funds would be routed through the U.S. Federal Reserve. An interim nuclear deal has allowed Tehran access to $4.2 billion in blocked funds globally... Under the proposed new arrangement, the Reserve Bank of India would buy the dollars from authorised currency dealers, instead of the Indian oil buyers tapping the currency market, the sources said. As part of a complex chain of transactions, the RBI would instruct the Federal Reserve to transfer dollars to the UAE central bank's account there, after confirmation that Iran had received a final payment in dirhams from Abu Dhabi." http://t.uani.com/1pmu99y Reuters: "French automaker Renault is looking for a financial partner to resume full operations in Iran and is in talks with the U.S. and French governments on the issue, one of its senior executives said. Renault is keen to resume Iranian vehicle assembly and sales with local partners Iran Khodro and Pars Khodro, to rebuild the significant market position it enjoyed before international sanctions on Tehran were introduced in 2011. 'What we are looking for is a financial partner, who will on their own as well comply with all the international regulations and which enable us to resume our activities in Iran,' Chief Performance Officer Jerome Stoll said in an interview with news agencies late on Wednesday. 'We are just trying to explain our position to the American administration, French administration as well. To explain what we want to do, how we want to proceed and how we want to make this business,' he said. He added that the company had been approached by Turkish banks and international banks." http://t.uani.com/UgBHPT Fars (Iran): "A team of Chinese investors have voiced their willingness to invest in Iran's steel industry, a senior Iranian trade official announced on Tuesday... On Monday, Managing Director of Bank of Industry and Mine (BIM) Ali Ashraf Afkhami underlined that Iran's lucrative market and eye-catching economic opportunities have persuaded Chinese investors to try to increase their investments in the country's development projects. In a meeting between the head of a high-ranking Chinese delegation from National Machinery Industry Corporation (SINOMACH) and Afkhami, the two officials discussed ways for broadening of cooperation in various fields, mainly investment in Iran's projects by the Chinese side." http://t.uani.com/1lCfKpN Iraq Crisis Reuters: "U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States is interested in communicating with Iran to share information about the Sunni insurgency spreading across Iraq, but Washington is not seeking to work together with Tehran to address the crisis. 'We are interested in communicating with Iran. That the Iranians know what we're thinking, that we know what they're thinking and there is a sharing of information so people aren't making mistakes,' Kerry said in an interview on NBC News that aired on Thursday. Asked if the United States was considering working hand-in-hand with Shi'ite-led Iran, Kerry said: 'No. We're not sitting around contemplating how we're going to do that or if we're going to do that. That's not on the table,' Kerry added." http://t.uani.com/1ictxDa 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.