Israel Matzav: Round 1 to Iran

Round 1 to Iran

Iran succeeded in doing what it wanted to do on Thursday: dragging out talks with the P-5 + 1 powers to give itself more time to continue to develop its nuclear weapons (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).

Critical talks over Iran’s nuclear ambitions that included the highest-level bilateral discussions between the United States and Iran in many years ended Thursday evening with Iran agreeing to meet to talk again before the end of the month.

Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief and the meeting’s host, said afterward that Iran had also agreed to allow international nuclear inspectors into the newly disclosed uranium-enrichment facility near Qum, possibly within a matter of weeks.

Speaking at the United Nations, the Iranian foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, described the talks as “constructive” and said they focused on a wide range of issues Iran had laid out in its five-page proposal for talks, which included discussions of global nuclear disarmament but no specifics about the Iranian nuclear program.

So as far as we can tell, the only discussion of Iran's nuclear program - which is supposed to be the issue in these talks - is an agreement to allow international nuclear inspectors into the Qom facility (once?) within a matter of (how many?) weeks. And in exchange, Iran gets another 3-4 weeks to keep the centrifuges spinning without Western interference.

What could go wrong?

Israel Matzav: Round 1 to Iran