Iran nuclear talks 'positive' after 15-month break

Iran nuclear talks 'positive' after 15-month break

Key talks on Iran's controversial nuclear programme, which have resumed after a 15-month impasse, have been described as "positive".

 Six world powers - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany - and Iran are meeting in Istanbul in Turkey. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful, but critics suspect it of seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Israel has hinted in recent months that it could carry out a pre-emptive strike on Iran to prevent that happening.

Michael Mann, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said the talks were "totally different" from the last session 15 months ago. "There is a positive atmosphere... contrasting with the last time," he said. The BBC's James Reynolds, in Istanbul, says the envoys had earlier set the bar pretty low - saying they did not expect detailed, substantive proposals from either side.

What they want to see, he says, is whether Iran is ready to seriously engage and, if that happens, there may be another round of talks in four to six weeks time 'Renewing confidence'

The six world powers, known collectively as the P5+1, hope the talks will at least cool tensions.

After a two-and-a-half-hour morning session, Mr Mann said: "The principles for future talks seem to be there."

There will be another session in the afternoon. Russia earlier warned both sides not to "overblow the differences" between them. "We really need to find a middle course," said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. "The negotiations are about renewing confidence."

US President Barack Obama has described this as a "last chance" for diplomacy to work, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Iran had to "demonstrate clearly in the actions they propose that they have truly abandoned any nuclear weapons ambition"But one source close to the Iranian delegation earlier told Agence France-Presse: "So far the Iranian delegation finds the Western position ... disappointing and discouraging."

On Thursday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country was "standing firm on its fundamental rights and under the harshest pressure will not retreat an iota from its undeniable right".

The P5+1 hope eventually to persuade Iran to reduce its enrichment of uranium and fully open up its nuclear facilities to inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).There are suggestions that the stringent sanctions on Iran could be reduced if it complies with the requests.

The last series of international talks broke down in January 2011 after the parties failed to agree on any issues. Since then, the IAEA expressed concern that Iran had failed to co-operate with its inspectors and had carried out activities "relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device". Israel, which believes a nuclear-capable Iran would be a direct threat to its security, has warned that time is running out to prevent that outcome.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would never allow Israelis to "live in the shadow of annihilation", and hinted his country is ready to strike Iran's nuclear facilities if diplomacy does not work soon. President Obama has warned against "loose talk of war", while stressing that all options remain open

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