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Iran suggests moving nuclear talks to Iraq, Syria or China
Ahead of nuclear negotiations scheduled next week between Iran and six world powers, Iranian officials are suggesting that the venue be moved to Iraq, Syria or China.
Iran’s Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezayee said that the nuclear talks scheduled for April 13-14 in Istanbul, Turkey, should be moved to another location, and listed Baghdad, Damascus or Beirut as potential options, according to the semi-official FARS News Agency.
Iran Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi also suggested China as a potential meeting place, according to Iran’s Mehr News.
The suggestions for moving the talks come after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week that the negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group — the five permanent United Nations Security Council members plus Germany — would be held in Istanbul, where last year’s talks were located.
Iranian lawmakers said that the “Friends of Syria” meeting in Istanbul showed Turkey is too aligned with the West, according to FARS, as Iran is a key backer of Syria.
The United States and European Union have since implemented economic sanctions against Iran, and a potential Israeli strike to stop Iran’s nuclear program has further escalated tensions there.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, while the United States and its allies say Iran is looking to build a nuclear weapon.
President Obama has said that he wants a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, although he’s said that a military option remains on the table.
“Iran’s window to seek and obtain a peaceful resolution will not remain open forever,” Clinton said last week.
The Obama administration went forward with stiffer sanctions against Iran on Friday ahead of a congressional deadline, as Obama said that the global oil supplies were sufficient to handle the tougher sanctions on foreign banks purchasing Iranian oil.
Afghanistan, however, is looking for leeway on the sanctions, Bloomberg reported, because Iran accounts for 50 percent of Afghanistan’s oil imports.
