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Diplomats: Iran Nuke Overture More of a Promise than an Offer
(AP-Denver Post) George Jahn - Diplomats familiar with the Iran nuclear talks say significant gaps remain between what the Iranians offered and what the six negotiating powers seek. Two diplomats said the chief advance achieved at Geneva was not detailed Iranian concessions, but Tehran's apparent willingness to engage - a departure from previous Iranian refusal to even discuss most of the other side's demands. The demands on Iran from the six powers include a halt on enriching uranium to 20%, disabling enrichment operations at the underground Fordo facility, a cap on how much enriched material Iran can produce and stockpile, the removal of Tehran's supply of 20%-enriched uranium and stricter UN supervision of its lower-grade enriched uranium stockpile, and a halt in construction of a reactor that will produce plutonium. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, predicted Monday the nuclear talks could take as long as a year. On Tuesday, Gen. Masoud Jazayri, the deputy chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, warned, "Iranian diplomats will never give in to the oppressive West."