Eye on Iran: No Breakthrough in Iran Nuclear Talks, Sides Agree to Keep Talking

Join UANI           Top Stories Reuters: "Iran and six world powers made little progress in overcoming significant disagreements in the most recent round of nuclear talks, including on uranium enrichment, Iranian and Western diplomats close to the negotiations said on Friday... A senior State Department official said gaps 'are still serious' with just eight weeks to go before a Nov. 24 deadline. 'We do not have an understanding on all major issues, we have some understandings that are helpful to move this process forward and we have an enormous number of details still to work through,' the official told reporters. 'We still have some very, very difficult understandings yet to reach, and everyone has to make difficult decisions and we continue to look to Iran to make some of the ones necessary for getting to a comprehensive agreement,' said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity... U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters that an interim deal approved in Geneva last November under which Iran had halted higher-level enrichment in exchange for limited sanctions relief 'has made the world safer.' On a long-term deal, Kerry said 'it remains our fervent hope that Iran' and the six powers 'can in the next weeks come to an agreement that would benefit the world.'" http://t.uani.com/1sKqEhA AP: "Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program are moving much too slowly, but the country will not 'surrender' on the key sticking point of uranium enrichment, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Friday... 'The remaining time for reaching an agreement is extremely short,' Rouhani said at a news conference. 'The progress that has been witnessed in the last two days has been extremely slow. We must have a more-fast pace to move forward.' ... 'Iran will never surrender its legal right to peaceful nuclear activities,' Rouhani said. 'Uranium enrichment will continue in Iran.'" http://t.uani.com/1xtP0gs VOA: "The chief U.S. negotiator at nuclear talks with Iran said in an exclusive interview with VOA's Persian Service on Thursday that optimism for a final deal remains. 'I believe we are making progress,' Wendy Sherman said, referring to the last round of talks on Tehran's nuclear program currently underway in New York - and coinciding with the United Nations General Assembly annual meeting... During her VOA interview, Sherman said lifting sanctions will be a boon for Iran. 'I have to tell you as soon as we suspend our major sanctions - which will happen very early in the agreement - the world will flood into Iran,' she said. 'Many international delegations have already been to Iran and so they will begin to see what they can do. It will be important to show that the agreement is durable, that it will last over a period of many years because we have a long history here that we are trying to solve." http://t.uani.com/1plPT2y     Nuclear Program & Negotiations RFE/RL: "Tehran says talks between Iran and world powers over Iran's nuclear program will resume in Europe before mid-October. Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told media in Tehran on September 29 that the negotiations -- aimed at brokering a historic deal by a November 24 deadline -- would resume in Vienna or Geneva within two weeks. He also said recent talks in New York did not make 'substantive progress' and that Iran was not interested in extending the deadline." http://t.uani.com/1mGqDsi AP: "First there were three nations negotiating with Tehran over its nuclear program. Then six. And now, mostly one - the United States. Washington insists that the Iran-six power negotiations are alive and well. But with a deadline to a deal only eight weeks away, the U.S. is increasingly reshaping the talks it joined five years ago into a series of bilateral meetings with Iran as the two nations with the greatest stakes race to seal a deal - and strengthen ties broken more than three decades ago... As those contacts grow, the two sides have begun discussing other issues. A senior U.S. official said that every U.S.-Iran meeting during the current session has included conversation about the whereabouts of former FBI Agent Robert Levinson, journalist Jason Rezaian and other Americans missing or detained in Iran. The common threat posed by the Islamic State group of militants also was discussed, said the official, who declined to go into details and demanded anonymity in line with State Department custom. Such developments hold the promise of expanded dialogue and slowly mending U.S.-Iranian ties, should the nuclear talks result in a deal by the Nov. 24 target date. Former U.S. negotiator Gary Samore says that even when limited to the nuclear issue, the growing Iran-U.S negotiating axis is 'an extremely good thing,' because it streamlines the talks between the two main players, allowing them to advance more quickly... But he warns against undue expectations should the negotiations fail. 'Washington would be eager to continue talking,' he says. 'But I wouldn't be surprised if Iran decided to boycott and ban any further bilateral meetings.'" http://t.uani.com/1rxF2ag Bloomberg: "Russia's chief negotiator to talks over Iran's nuclear program said he's confident an accord can be reached on the Persian Gulf nation's enrichment levels if the parties have enough political will. 'We're sure that such a compromise is possible,' Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview today in New York. 'Without this compromise, there won't be any deal.' Ryabkov said he's concerned about meeting a Nov. 24 deadline for reaching an accord, with no agreement yet on the key remaining issues. 'So far there hasn't been the political will to make that final step.' ... Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the negotiations are 'moving in the right direction' and that 'some 95 percent of the deal is agreed,' though the remaining five percent consists of 'two or three very difficult issues.'" http://t.uani.com/1qNVsq7 AP: "Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Friday that the time isn't right for another phone conversation or a meeting with President Barack Obama 'because of the sensitivity that still exists between the two countries.' ... Rouhani, peppered with questions about a repeat conversation at a news conference before heading home after this year's ministerial meeting, said: 'Not a meeting nor a telephone call had been included in the agenda nor been planned for, ... nor intended to be a part of our visit this year to the U.N. General Assembly.' Rouhani said there must be substantive reasons with 'high objectives' for conversations between world leaders. If not, he said, 'telephone calls are somewhat meaningless.' The Iranian president said the time is not ripe as there still is too much sensitivity between the two countries. A phone conversation between the two leaders 'would only be constructive and fruitful when it is done according to a precisely laid plan with precisely clearly stated objectives,' Rouhani said. 'Otherwise it will never be constructive or effective.'" http://t.uani.com/YFMAwf Sanctions Relief Trend: "Iran's GDP, including the oil sector, grew by [4.6] percent in spring this year after 8 seasons of decline. Peiman Qorbani, Vice Governor of Iranian Central Bank (CBI) said the national economy, excluding the oil sector, grew by 4.4 percent in spring, corresponding to the first quarter of the current Iranian year, the Mehr news agency reported Sept. 28. 'The administration's top priority is to curb the inflation rate and stabilize the domestic market,' he said, adding that the industry sector accounted for the lion's share of the growth. Iran's agriculture, oil, mine and industry sectors achieved positive growth rates of up to 8.1 percent during the mentioned period, according to the CBI. The economic growth rate in Iran turned positive after the country experienced months of stagflation, suffering negative economic growth combined with rising inflation rate. In the last Iranian calendar year (ended March 20, 2014) Iran's economy shrank by 1.9 percent." http://t.uani.com/1tbkX6A Trend: "Iran's non-oil trade turnover (including condensates) surpassed $49.69 billion during the first half of current Iranian fiscal year from March 21 to Sept. 22, indicating 31 percent increase compared to the country's $37.9 billion foreign trade in same period of preceding year (Iran's fiscal year starts on March 21). Iran's non-oil exports stood at $23.669 billion during the period, 22.5 percent more compared the 6-month period of last year, Iranian Customs Administration reported Sept. 29. Iran also imported about $26.021 billion worth of goods during the period, which indicates a rise by 29.54 percent in value year on year. Liquefied propane, methanol and liquefied butane were the main items exported. China, Iraq, the UAE, Afghanistan and India were the top importers of Iranian goods during the mentioned period. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates, China, India , South Korea and Turkey were the leading exporters of goods to Iran." http://t.uani.com/1DRi2s1 Trend: "Iran produced 455,000 cars in the first half of the current year. Iran's industry minister Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh said the domestic carmakers plan to produce 1.2 million cars by the end of the year, Iran's IRIB reported on Sept. 29. The Information Network for Iran Production and Trade, affiliated with the Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade reported on Aug. 31 that the country's car production has risen significantly after two years of decline. Based on official statistics, Iranian carmakers produced 624,000 cars in Iranian year 1392 (March 2013-March 2014), a 29 percent fall compared to year 1391 and a 55 percent fall compared to year 1390." http://t.uani.com/YG0GOb Trend: "Japan's JFE Holdings Inc. is ready to invest in Iran's water and electricity projects. Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Alireza Daemi said the company is prepared to invest particularly in smart water and electricity supply systems, Iran's Moj news agency reported on Sept. 29. The Japanese company has announced its readiness to invest as much as possible in Iran's water and electricity projects, he added." http://t.uani.com/1u67ocI Human Rights IranWire: "Whilst President Rouhani answered questions from the international media at the UN General Assembly about the Iranian nuclear program and ISIS with the odd reference to the human rights situation back in Iran, Mohsen Amir Aslani, a prisoner of conscience, was executed. Asiani, 37, was hanged in Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj at dawn on Wednesday September 24 for allegedly insulting the Prophet Jonah and committing heresy. On the previous day, a prison official contacted his parents and asked them to come and visit their son one final time. Prior to this, no information about his arrest or trial was made public because his family was led to believe that by keeping quiet about his arrest, he would eventually be released... Before his imprisonment, Amir Aslani was a family man who worked as a psychologist but was interested in theology and gave religious classes that looked at different interpretations of the Koran. This was the cause for his arrest and nine months in solitary confinement in Cell block 209 of Evin Prison in 2006. His original sentence was four years but was initially reduced to twenty-eight months by the appeals court until Judge Salavati, infamous for his harsh sentencing, sentenced him to death on new unfounded charges." http://t.uani.com/1vp5NyY Foreign Affairs AP: "Iranian state television accused the BBC on Sunday of trying to steal 'artistic, historic and cultural documents' from government archives in the Islamic Republic. The BBC had no immediate comment on the claim, coming in a report on the Iranian broadcasting company's website, though Iran has a history of accusing the British broadcaster as operating as a cover for spies and dissidents. The state television report said Iranian intelligence officials disrupted the alleged plot by local dependents of the BBC. 'The hostile network of the BBC - against the mores and regulations of media and international law - attempted to steal historical documents from formal archive centers through its local dependents,' the report read, citing a statement by Iran's intelligence department." http://t.uani.com/1uwKGfv    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.