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Stanislav Filippov / AFP
Iran's representatives, led by their top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, fourth from left, sit at a table during the talks with world powers representatives on Iran's nuclear program in the Kazakh city of Almaty on Wednesday.
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- On Tuesday, officials from Iran and six world powers held their first meeting in eight months as part of the effort to resolve a dispute over Tehran's nuclear program that threatens to trigger another war in the Middle East.
This time, officials and journalists set up shop in the city of Almaty, deep in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan.
While the negotiators negotiated, journalists waiting in another hotel wondered, “Why Almaty?”
After all, this is not an easy location for anyone to get to -- journalist or diplomat.
Istanbul seemed like the obvious choice, with two previous rounds having been held there (talks have also been held in Baghdad and Moscow). But Turkey has joined the ever-expanding list of countries that have a tense relationship with Iran. The two countries until recently enjoyed a strong relationship, but that soured with Turkey’s support of the rebels in Syria. Iran is Syrian President Bashar Assad’s closest ally.
Local journalists explain that Kazakhstan is a symbolically wise choice because it was the first ex-Soviet state to give up nuclear weapons. Besides, it is a neutral country between the West and Iran.
Hazlan Abdul Hakim / Getty
Skyline of Almaty, Kazakhstan
Choosing the venue for the talks was a negotiation in its own right. The six world powers -- Germany, China, France, Russia, the United States and United Kingdom -- suggested Geneva; Iran suggested Baghdad. Then they suggested Stockholm; Iran suggested Almaty.
When the six suggested going west, Iran wanted to go east.
So now journalists and officials sit in Almaty -- but not together, because most journalists weren't allowed to attend. While the diplomats and officials discussed matters in the Rixos hotel, more than 100 journalists hung out in the InterContinental. In a palm tree-graced lobby, reporters spent their day gossiping and speculating whether the two sides would even agree to another round of talks Wednesday morning.
Mostly, many journalists seemed very bored, despite the spread that the Kazakh government laid out for them at lunch.
At the end of a long day of waiting, a spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton updated reporters.
"We had a useful meeting today," Michael Mann said. “Hopefully the Iranians will be able to reflect overnight and will come back and view our proposal positively."
There could still be another breakdown in negotiations, as in previous talks during the last seven years, and then another hiatus. As in other times, a negotiated agreement could prove impossible to reach.
And if that happens, as it has every other time, negotiators and journalists will look for another world city to alight in.
Related:
Iran conducts tests to bring down 'hypothetical' drones
UN watchdog: Iran installing sophisticated devices at uranium enrichment plant
Iran says it is converting uranium, easing bomb fears
Leave a Comment:
The Iranian regime has NEVER been serious about talks. One must understand the mentality of the Iranian mullahs to understand what "talks" mean to them. They are focused and dead set on getting nuclear weapons. These talks are just for stalling, until they get their nukes.
Obama offered a dialogue and asked for "unclinched fist" from the Iranians. In return, they gave him the cold shoulder, four more years of "talking" and four years closer to their nuclear dream.
Here in US, we may not be so much concerned about direct attack from Iran - although NK as a close friend and supplier to Iran has threatened to do just that - but Iranian neighboring countries and Israel are first target. The "dirty bomb" to US cities will come next. See all active hezbolah bases in Venezuela and Mexico.
We need to stop pussy footing with these mullahs and get serious with them. If we cannot get serious, then don't hold Israel back from doing the world a favor and doing the job themselves.
These are delay tactics while Iranian scientists work 24/7. They may shock the world with a much earlier nuke. These talks are meaningless and Iran needs to be shut down.......
This is no doubt just a stalling tactic. The Iranians have no intention of making any changes to their nuclear program. They are just hoping to keep the stall up long enough to get a working bomb before anyone decides to take action to stop them. Anyone who does not think they are working on a bomb is either totally uninformed or completely naive. They are enriching large quantities of uranium to the 20% enrichment level. This is well beyond the 3-5% enrichment used for fuel in civilian nuclear power plants. There are only two uses for 20% enriched uranium, one is as a precursor to highly enriched uranium for weapons and the other is for use in a medical research reactor. Since they have already enriched enough to this level to fuel a huge number of medical reactors, this is obviously not the purpose. They have increased the number of centrifuges in their facilities and stockpiled the precursor for developing weapon grade material. They are hoping that by stockpiling the precursor that they can manufacture enough weapons grade material for a number of bombs before anyone catches on to the enrichment efforts. Once they have a working bomb design they will start enriching enough uranium to fuel a large number of weapons. By having a stockpile of the precursor they guarantee that they can do this very quickly. We are well past the point of talks. It is time to take concrete action to put a stop to the Iranian nuclear program. These talks are just stalls and it is time to stop letting them get away with this game. Unfortunately, Obama has no spine and I doubt very much that he will do anything concrete about Iran until it is too late and we are reading about their conducting a successful nuclear test in the newspapers.
I'm starting to picture a caveman driving a 2013 Ford F-350 when I hear the name "Iran" anymore...
If they make the wrong move with their nuclear power, we'll have no other choice but to show them that their nukes are like comparing a fire cracker (Iran) with a stick of dynamite (USA)...
all in all, it'll be a really, "really" sad day if it should come to this...
All I can say is that if it's true about the weapons part, I hope (for their sake) that they're also using for medical research because, they're gonna need it...
"the sky is falling, the sky is falling".
Wow, just about every reply seeks to demonize Iran. Farideh writes as if she were a mind reader, always knowing what the Iranian leadership is doing and thinking, even though she is sitting somewhere in Israel.
Iran hasn't started a war with another country in almost 200 years. They have no nukes and no nuclear weapons program, according to all our intelligence agencies. Thats a fact, Jack. Somehow, farideh never lets facts get in the way.
No more wars for Israel and cut of the aid. Sorry farideh, you might have to go get another job, instead of the one you now have, posting Zionist propaganda.
@RalphH,
What do you think Iran wants with fissile material? Energy independence? Doubtful as they already have the purities for that (if their own news outlets are to be believed). They also have the option to gain operational nuclear reactors from Russia...today, and at a much lower cost than all this research is likely to get them. Short answer, there is no realistic need to continue research and development other than for the aim of acquiring a nuclear weapon.
The world isn't stupid and neither are the Iranians. The Iranians have serious ambitions on the world stage. Theirs is a culture that has dominated world history. They see nuclear capability as necessary to thwart Isreal's own ambititions. Given the US/European support of Isreal, we are also in their crosshairs.
And don't believe for a second that a nuclear-armed Iran is good for anybody. It's already tense enough with Pakistan, India, and North Korea having weapons. Additionally, there's no love lost between the Persians and Arabs.
Frankly, I'm surprised that Iran doesn't have the bomb already. Those sanctions on technology export must work better than I thought.
ralph - I have lived in LA since 1984. That settles your arrogant statements. However, your most arrogant lie - which you repeat every time - is that Iran has not attacked another country in 200 years. In fact, the "other" article on this site is about that very attack by your theocratic mullahs on the US embassy, and you have the nerve to blatantly lie about that to people. Follow that with Khobar attack on Americans, then the Beirut attack on the Marines.
We can see your lies that are quite transparent. Another Iranian dirty mullah defending other pedophiles in Iranian despicable regime and their nuke programs against Americans. Get lost.
Hey Gator- Please tell me why all of our intelligence agencies say that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program. If you think you know something they do not, please let them know. Until then, I will rely on what the experts say, not fools like you.
To farideh - The government of Iran had nothing to do with the embassy hostages. It was led by students, not the Iranian military. That was hardly an attack on our country, which could be called a war.
Iran did not do the Khobar Towers attack nor the Beirut bombing. Israel did attack the USS Liberty, which should have been construed as an act of war and would have been, had not Lyndon Johnson, a closet Jew, not covered up the attack from the American people.
Johnson was Jewish on his maternal grandparents side and was an ardent Zionist. He practiced Christianity only to help his political career.
: Rear Admiral
Lawrence Geis, commander of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, protests
decision to recall rescue planes to Secretary of Defense McNamara. At that
point President Johnson comes on the phone and says he didn't care if the ship
sunk, he would not embarrass his allies. Admiral Geis tells Lt. Commander David
Lewis, head of the Liberty's NSA group, of the remark, but asks him not to
repeat it until after he dies. It is a promise Lewis will honor.
1915: Captain McGonagle, wounded and exhausted, dictates first report on
estimated casualties: 10 dead; 15 severely wounded; 75 total wounded;
undetermined missing. His estimates would prove low. 34 American sailors were killed and 172 wounded.
9 June 1967: After midnight: Soviet guided missile
destroyer sends flashing-light message in English: "Do you need
help?" Liberty responds: "No thank you." Soviets answer: "I
will stand by in case you need me."
Iran is a master at stalling. That's all they really know how to do, and nothing at all will come of these 'talks', as usual. Instead of destroying Iran's nuclear facilities, just deny them access to the entrances.
Iran learned well from North Korea, about puffing out there chest !
except Israel is going to show Iran what a real nuclear bomb can and will do !
This Administration will move after they see a Mushroom Cloud over Israel, then it will be a Wrist Slap. A Nuclear Iran works in OBama's Interest, part of his Grand Scheme to get that Third Term like Roosevelt. You can Trust OBama as much as You can Trust the Mullahs.
Lemme guess, you didn't vote for Obama... right?!
You guys who didn't get their way just cannot let it go huh.....
Is that why you're by the border? This way, one step south, and you're outta the Country?
Ingenious!
Truth is, neither did I however, I look forward, and live that way...
Isreal is perfectly able to take care of theirselves.
I'm waiting for someone to come out of the meeting waving a piece of paper in the air and yelling peace in our time.
Iran's nightmare--'The Final Solution--Israel' is soon to become a reality and Iran returned to 1,000,000 years BC. It will stay that way for a long long time.
Ross, That would be nice but I don't think either won of us will live long enough to see that.
Wouldn't be nice it would be here we go again. WWII ring any bells?
The mullahs keep buying more time because we keep selling it to them - cheap.
Bill: Well said.
Just like POTUS Clinton did with North Korea...
1994 The USA, South Korea & Japan will give you TWO 50-megawatt plutonium reactors & fuel oil, if you stop your nuclear development...
Congress did not make the financial commitment for the reactors — neither did South Korea...
Oct 2002: Officials from the U.S. State Department fly to Pyongyang, where that government admits it had acquired centrifuges for processing highly enriched uranium, which could be used for building nuclear weapons, from the fuel rods they already have...
Oct 20, 2002: Bush announces that the United States is formally withdrawing from the Carter-brokered 1994 agreement and oil shipments stopped...
Apr 2003: North Korea's deputy foreign minister announces that his country now has "deterrent" nuclear weapons.
Feb 2013: North Korea’s third nuclear test after their 2006 & 2009 test...
Even if we had proof Iran was building nukes, we wouldn't do anything about it.
Lets see how far this goes.............before we bombed Japan 'with nukes', it might have been helpful for a group of countries to 'stop' us from obtaining nuke power. (an interesting divide of comments to follow?)
Iran doesn't care about nuclear talks and neither should we. The world for the most part has already said no to Iran having nukes of any kind for peaceful purposes or not and it is time to enforce it.
You don't see the irony in 5 nuclear armed nations telling Iran that they can't have nuclear technology??
Israel, another nuclear armed nation, has had the ability to SOLVE the problem, since 1981...
The West just needs to unleash their 'attack dog'...
Israel using Stuxnet worms have destroyed 20% of Iranian Gas Centrifuges and their agents have shot Iranian nuclear scientists...
On Sunday, we Jews celebrated the Feast of Purim (Lots) to celebrate God's victory over the then Persian Empire. Now, 2,500 years later, today's Persians (Iranians) are still trying to make up for Haman's failure to extinguish us.
Iran and its stooges, Hamas and Hezbollah, have no interest in peace regarding Israel. "We must resist our enemy by all available means," the group (Hamas) said in a statement emailed to reporters. "We stress our commitment to armed struggle against the Zionist enemy." If this isn't a just cause for all out war against the anti-civilzationists I don't know what is. The Middle East has become one big refugee camp thanks to its countries' rulers, its sheiks, ayatollahs and imams. If they're so unhappy watching the Jewish Democracy flourish and contribute greatly to the world's needs, and they have not the sense to emulate their prosperous neighbor, and they believe that martyrdom is called for by their prophet, then let's blow them to hell and let them look for their virgins there.
Isreal should not look to the US to save them, let them do it themselves. We are not the ones being threatened. Not our fight.
Perfectly stated Kountryking.
Pray for a guiding light. Stay positive people
A D5 light? Sure, I'm staying positive.
"Most" journalist were kept out. Which ones were allowed?
It's about damn time they brought Borat into this equation. I just hope he didn't bring his sister...
say hi to Borat for me!
MY thoughts on Meetings:
Talks are ALWAYS more fruitful when you are required to Stand. What are you expecting from a bunch of @!$%#s sitting down ?
i guess it's time to trot our the anonymous sources claiming chemical weapons. americans love that one. c'mon, we can do better than 22 veteran suicides everyday, can't we?
On our way out of ASSH0LISTAN we should drop all of our extra bombs on the Ayatollah and his religious university.