Iran N. Negotiator to Meet Solana Alone Next Time

Chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said on Thursday he would be alone at the next round of talks with the European Union’s top diplomat, Javier Solana, to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program. Jalili replaced Ali Larijani as chief nuclear negotiator in October but both attended talks with Solana in Rome on October 23. After that round, Solana said the new negotiator was upstaged by Larijani.

Solana is representing six world powers in the discussions aimed at trying to end a nuclear row. The West accuses Iran of seeking to build atomic bombs, a charge Tehran denies. West has not corroborative proof to substantiate its allegations.

The next meeting with Solana is expected before the end of November.

When asked if Larijani would join him at the next round of discussions with Solana, Jalili told a news conference, “In the next round, I will be present alone in the talks, of course with my (other) colleagues.”

Larijani, a political rival of Ahmadinejad, told an Iranian newspaper in November he had resigned so that the president would “enjoy a free hand”.