UNITED NATIONS –
– EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says talks between Iran, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany were “substantial” and have set the stage for a new round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program next month.
Speaking after Thursday’s meeting at the United Nations, Ashton told reporters all parties had agreed to “go forward with an ambitious timeframe.” She said senior negotiators would meet in Geneva on Oct. 15-16.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said there had been a “big improvement in the tone and spirit” from Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.
The meeting marked the highest-level direct contact between the United States and Iran in six years as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sat next to Zarif.
Iran started talks on Thursday with six world powers on its disputed nuclear program as U.S. officials tried to tamp down expectations of any quick breakthrough.
The meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly marks the highest-level direct contact between the United States and Iran in six years.
It aims to pave the way for the first round of substantive nuclear negotiations since April.
That round is expected in October in Geneva.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Zarif, both in New York this week to attend the U.N. General Assembly, have said they are anxious to clinch an agreement quickly that could bring their country relief from punishing international sanctions.
But the U.S. insists Rouhani must back up his calls for moderation with actions that verify Iran is not seeking to develop a nuclear weapon.
In Washington, the White House resisted putting a timeline on the nuclear negotiations.
“We’re not expecting any breakthrough in this initial meeting,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney. “But this is part of us testing the seriousness of the Iranians, who are obviously engaging in new overtures and showing new interest in trying to solve this very serious matter.”
President Barack Obama has directed Secretary of State John Kerry to lead a new outreach and explore possibilities for resolving the long-standing dispute.
Kerry predicted the meeting would be worthwhile. Asked what he would need to hear from the Iranians to show that they’re serious, he said: “I’ll let you know after they’ve been serious.”
Rouhani’s pronouncements at the U.N. have raised guarded hopes that progress might be possible. But they have also served as a reminder that the path to that progress will not be quick or easy.
In his speech to world leaders at the U.N. on Tuesday, he repeated Iran’s long-standing demand that any nuclear agreement must recognize the country’s right under international treaties to continue enriching uranium.
The U.S. and its allies have long demanded a halt to enrichment, fearing Tehran could secretly build nuclear warheads. They have imposed sanctions over Iran’s refusal to halt enrichment. Uranium enriched to low levels can be used as fuel for nuclear energy but at higher levels, it can be used to make a nuclear weapon.
Rouhani also insisted that any deal be contingent on all other nations declaring their nuclear programs, too, are solely for peaceful purposes – alluding to the U.S. and Israel.
Those conditions underscored that there is still a large chasm to be bridged in negotiations.
The United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany are participating in the talks at the U.N., with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton leading the talks.
Rouhani has made a series of appearances and speeches since arriving in New York and has held bilateral negotiations with France, Turkey and Japan among others.
He has come across as a more moderate face of the hard-line clerical regime in Tehran and appears to be trying to tone down Ahmadinejad’s caustic rhetoric against Israel – a point of friction in relations with the U.S.
On Thursday, he called for worldwide disarmament of nuclear weapons as “our highest priority.”
“No nation should possess nuclear weapons, since there are no right hands for these wrong weapons,” he told the first-ever meeting of a U.N. forum on nuclear disarmament. He was speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, an organization of mostly developing countries.
He repeated the organization’s long-standing demand that Israel join the international treaty banning the spread of nuclear weapons.
Israel, which has repeatedly accused Iran of aspiring to build a nuclear bomb is the only Mideast state that has not signed the landmark 1979 Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Israeli mission to the U.N. was closed on Thursday because of a Jewish holiday and did not have an immediate response to Rouhani’s comments.
Rouhani also met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who urged “concrete progress” on settling the nuclear issue. Abe also said the window of opportunity “will not be open forever,” according to Japanese Foreign Ministry assistant press secretary Masaru Sato.
Rouhani responded that he aimed to settle the nuclear issue at “an early juncture,” Sato said. It was the first meeting between leaders of Japan and Iran since 2008.
Rouhani was elected after a campaign that pledged to seek relief from the international sanctions. He has welcomed a new start in nuclear negotiations in hopes they could ease the economic pressure.
He has said he has the full support of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final word on all important matters of state, including the nuclear question.
Zarif, who Rouhani has designated his lead nuclear negotiator, has urged step-by-step compromises to advance the negotiations.
Iran watchers say Rouhani may have limited time to reach a settlement – possibly a year or less – before Khamenei decides negotiations are fruitless. That may explain why Zarif has call to reach a deal in shortest timeframe possible.
Already, Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard force has grown increasingly uneasy over Rouhani’s outreach to the West as well as his apparent backing from Khamenei, who has told the Guard to steer clear of politics.
The Guard has warned Rouhani about moving too fast on his overtures.
