Iran has finally offered to resume talks about its nuclear program. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council; the US, Russia, China, France, and Britain, along with Germany, have accepted a proposal from Iran that talks be resumed. The time and place have not yet been settled.
The Iranian Nuclear negotiator, Said Jalili, announced in a letter, dated February, that Tehran was ready to resume the talks at the earliest possible moment, so long as it would be allowed to continue with its peaceful atomic energy program.
The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, hopes that Iran will open up to the UN in a "sustained process of constructive dialogue which will deliver real progress in resolving the international community's long-standing concerns on its nuclear program."
The German Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, also offered his support for the promise of new talks when he said in a news conference that, "Iran should take our constructive reply letter as an occasion to respond constructively and with transparency to the international community. Germany is ready to engage in a serious and substantial dialogue with Iran on its nuclear program."
Today Iran has agreed to allow UN inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit its Parchin military complex where a nuclear weapons program is suspected of be being developed. When the IAEA teams recently visited Iran they were prohibited from viewing the Parchin complex; Iran gave the excuse that this was because entering the base is "a time-consuming process."
This new penchant for reopening the talks comes following increased tensions with Israel, who have not denied the fact that they are considering military action against Tehran with the aim of destroying its nuclear installations. The US Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta, has also promised that the US will not hesitate to act to counter Iran's suspected nuclear threat.
On 5th Obama met with the Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in a closed door meeting to discuss Iran's nuclear program.
By. Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com
Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com More