Iran-EU Talks Postponed

A meeting between Iran’s deputy nuclear negotiator and a top aide of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has been postponed. Iran’s Javad Vaeedi and Robert Cooper were to meet Wednesday (November 21) on the sidelines of a UN nuclear watchdog board meeting to arrange crucial talks between Solana and Iran’s new nuclear pointman Saeed Jalili.

Solana is due to report on Iran’s readiness or otherwise to suspend uranium enrichment and enter into negotiations on its nuclear program before major powers take a decision on whether to impose further sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Vaeedi told FNA that the meeting was postponed due to “technical reasons” as the two sides were still negotiating the date and venue.

“This meeting will take place in the next few days. We are trying to organize the date and the place of negotiations,” Vaeedi said.

The secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement the meeting was expected to take place next week.

Iran insists it is only seeking nuclear energy for civilian purposes, while Washington claims that it is seeking a bomb. The United States and its western allies do not have any corroborative proof to substantiate their allegations about Iran. Tehran has been hit by two rounds of UN sanctions over its nuclear program while it has always cooperated with the UN nuclear watchdog agency. A recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei praised Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA, and described Tehran as truthful about its past nuclear activities.

In other developments, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in a letter to diplomats around the world that his country has resolved outstanding issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency over its nuclear program.

Mottaki said Iran’s nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but that certain states are insisting on “illegal and illegitimate procedures” to deal with Iran.

The United States is seeking a third round of United Nations sanctions against Iran for its nuclear activities.