Iran's nuclear issue: hopes emerging, bumpy road ahead
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E-mail Xinhua, April 16, 2012
The long-awaited talks over Tehran 's controversial nuclear program concluded in Istanbul of Turkey on Saturday between Iran and six world powers, with both sides describing the talks as positive and constructive.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - - the United States, France, Russia, China, and Britain -- plus Germany (P5+1) agreed to hold another round of talks in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on May 23.
Although hopes are emerging for the resolution of the long- standing Iranian nuclear issue, the road ahead remains bumpy, analysts say.
"The world witnessed Saturday it (the atmosphere of talks) was different, but the concrete results will not come out immediately or in one go," Dr. Sadeq Zibakalam, a professor of political science at Tehran University, told Xinhua on Sunday.
Signs of progress
The softened position of the Iranian delegation and the pragmatic approach the P5+1 took in the talks led to agreement on some initial generalities over Iran's nuclear issue.
Both sides during the Istanbul talks agreed to prepare a draft to be discussed in the next round of talks in Baghdad, which is a positive step.
The "constructive" atmosphere of the Istanbul talks was not unexpected as both sides entered the dialogues with gestures of willingness to ease, to some extent, the ever-increasing tensions around the nuclear program of the Islamic republic.
On Saturday, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who headed the delegation of the six world powers in the Istanbul talks, described the nuclear talks as "constructive and useful."
Speaking at a press conference shortly after the meeting, Ashton said "we have agreed that the nonproliferation treaty forms a key basis to ensure all the obligations under the treaty are met by Iran while fully respecting Iran's right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy."
"We expect that the upcoming meetings will lead to concrete steps toward a comprehensive negotiated solution which restores international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program," said Ashton.
Saeed Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, said during his own press release that he believed this round of negotiations was a step forward.
He stressed that Iran should enjoy its "rights" to have nuclear energy while declaring that Tehran does not pursue nuclear weapons.
Jalili acknowledged that the world powers maintain a "positive approach" in the talks, saying they advanced the "process of cooperation."
"It can be said with caution that they (the talks) are positive, " Dr. Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a research fellow at the Institute of North American and European Studies of Tehran University, told the local satellite Press TV following the remarks by the representatives of both sides.
Meanwhile, Zibakalam told Xinhua that the Istanbul talks "showed that both Tehran and the West want some kind of dialogue, some kind of understanding."
Bumpy road ahead
Although the related parties have given positive remarks on Saturday's nuclear talks, analysts say this round of talks still failed to achieve any concrete results.
The two sides only agreed to hold further talks and the road ahead for resolving Iran's nuclear issue remains bumpy.
Such crucial issues as whether Iran should stop 20 percent uranium enrichment activities, how Iran's rights for peaceful nuclear energy can be ensured and how to lift sanctions on Tehran remain to be discussed.
Zibakalam said that the Istanbul talks can be regarded a breakthrough as "for the first time, they (the two sides) finished the meeting with smile." On the other hand, however, it "wasn't a real breakthrough" because no concrete results were reached.
"The crucial issue is that what Iran is going to do with the uranium enrichment program and whether or not the West will tolerate Iran's enrichment (activities)," he said.
"Is Iran going to continue with 20 percent enrichment ( activities)? Will the West tolerate that?" Zibakalam said of the lingering questions.
He said that no one should expect immediate and concrete results to come out from Baghdad meeting on May 23, concluding that "there will be a lot of hard bargaining between the two sides ... (and concrete results) will not come immediately or in one go. "
Instead, concrete results will come in a step-by-step process in the following rounds of talks, he added.
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