Eye on Iran: Iran, Six Powers Set for 'Very Tough' Nuclear Talks

Join UANI           Top Stories AFP: "Iran and six world powers return to the negotiating table on Friday with only two months left to reach a deal on ensuring Tehran's nuclear program poses no military threat. No major breakthroughs are expected at the talks that are to continue until the end of next week, but the pressure is on both sides to find ways to narrow the gaps. It will be the first meeting between Iran and the so-called P5+1 comprised of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany since July when they decided to extend the deadline for a deal to November 24. 'Coming into New York, I think many of us were not optimistic,' a senior US administration official said on the eve of the talks. 'But it is clear that everyone has come here to go to work,' said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. 'It's tough, very tough.'" http://t.uani.com/YXUNgd AP: "Seven months and more than a half dozen rounds into talks on a substantive nuclear deal, Iran and six world powers gathering for another session appear no closer to an agreement... Gary Samore of Harvard's Belfer Center, who was a part of the U.S. nuclear negotiating team until last year, suggested both sides may be waiting until closer to the deadline to make their moves. Ahead of that, he says, Iran appears to be exploiting other geopolitical tensions in hopes of gaining an advantage. 'The confrontation over Ukraine, the likes of (Islamic State group) - all that has led the Iranians to believe that they are in a stronger position than before,' Samore said. 'It doesn't seem to me like there has been any progress on the central question of enrichment.'" http://t.uani.com/1BTqd5j Reuters: "U.S. President Barack Obama is not scheduled to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New York during the United Nations General Assembly next week, though the U.S. leader remains open to such a meeting, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is likely to hold bilateral talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tehran's nuclear program and other issues on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at U.N. headquarters, the official said on condition of anonymity. 'At this point there is no meeting scheduled,' the official said. 'The president of the United States is well known for being open to such a meeting but the choice is really Iran's.'" http://t.uani.com/1p3xkAd   UN General Assembly Al-Monitor: "When Iranian President Hassan Rouhani came to New York last year for his debut at the UN General Assembly, there was optimism that a fundamental shift between the United States and Iran was at hand... But as Rouhani returns to the annual gabfest on the East River, it is no longer sufficient for him to be the anti-Mahmoud Ahmadinejad... In the end, however, Rouhani is channeling Ahmadinejad by planning a frenetic schedule of media and other appearances - in addition to an expected speech before the General Assembly on Sept. 25. Rouhani is to begin with a breakfast with top US editors and correspondents Sept. 23, have an off-record dinner with Iran scholars that evening, joust before a live and Internet audience with Fareed Zakaria in a hotel ballroom the following afternoon and hobnob with members of the faith community at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Sept. 26. A dinner with Iranian-Americans is also planned. But unlike last year, Iranian authorities have dampened speculation about a meeting between Obama and Rouhani." http://t.uani.com/1uLMMGO Sanctions Relief FT: "The EU's initial freeze on the assets of Iran's central bank has been struck out in court, calling into question the bloc's use of confidential sources to support its international sanctions. The Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled that the case against the Iranian central bank from January 2012 was based on confidential evidence from one unidentified member state, against which Tehran could not mount a defence...  In the Iran case, however, the EU said there would be 'no practical consequences' because there were further later provisions against Iran that would remain in force, ensuring the embargo on the central bank remained. However, the case shows that the basis for EU sanctions is coming under increasing pressure. The European Council, the body which represents the 28 nation states of the EU, has just over two months to appeal." http://t.uani.com/1uZAsB5 Sanctions Enforcement & Impact Economic Times: "State-run Shipping CorporationBSE -2.22 % of India is having a tussle with Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines over valuation of a 39-year-old joint venture company that is being wound up. The joint venture, Irano Hind Shipping Lines, has become unprofitable due to the sanctions imposed by the US and the EU on Tehran and several companies over the country's nuclear weapons programme. Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), which has demanded that it be paid for its 49% stake in the company, has assessed the value of assets at $132 million. Its Iranian partner, Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, however, has pegged it at $95 million. 'The matter is being negotiated between the two companies. If we are unable to reach a resolution, we will approach the external affairs ministry since they would be better placed to get us a good bargain,' a senior official told ET." http://t.uani.com/XQtUtD    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.