US, Europe welcome Iran’s letter, nuclear talks likely

New York: There are signs that tensions over Iran’s nuclear program could be cooling off after hitting a particularly rough patch this week. US and European officials said on Friday  they were encouraged by a new Iranian proposal for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, expressing guarded optimism that the overture could lead to talks. Speaking at the State Department on Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said they are evaluating Iran’s offer to resume talks with world powers. Clinton said the Iranian response was “the one we have been waiting for.” [caption id=“attachment_146709” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Hillary Clinton says Iran’s response on nuclear talks is what the world has been waiting to hear. Reuters”]  [/caption] Clinton and Ashton, who is the point of contact for the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, met in Washington on Friday after Iran sent a letter two days ago to Ashton expressing a readiness to resume talks. The letter from Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili was a response to a letter Ashton sent in October. “The international community has been looking to Iran to demonstrate it is prepared to come to the table in a serious and constructive way. We have been reviewing Iran’s proposal to resume talks on its nuclear activities and consulting closely between us and with our other P5+1 partners,” said Clinton. “This response from the Iranian government is one we’ve been waiting for and if we do proceed, it will have to be a sustained effort that can produce results,” she added. The P5+1 group consists of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, Britain, China, France and Russia — plus Germany. Ashton said the letter pointed to a “potential possibility that Iran may be ready to start talks.” The peace overture comes after an incredibly fraught week with three bombing attacks targeting Israeli diplomats in two days, on Indian, Thai and Georgian soil. The US stopped short of blaming Iran directly for the attacks, but said they came on the heels of other ‘Iranian-linked’ attacks. Tensions are running high especially amid speculation that Israel may launch a preemptive strike to set back Iran’s nuclear program. But despite all this, US intelligence officials gave a Senate panel a surprisingly calm and sober assessment of ground realities on Thursday. Lieutenant General Ronald Burgess, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday that “Iran could attempt to employ terrorist surrogates worldwide. However, the agency assesses Iran is unlikely to initiate or intentionally provoke a conflict.” China calls for talks China called on all sides to seize the opportunity for an early resumption of talks with Iran. “China calls for all relevant parties to seize the opportunity for an early resumption of talks with Iran and bring the Iran nuclear issue back on the track of dialogue and cooperation,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said when asked about the Iran letter at a news conference. “China is ready to continue to play a constructive role.” With China and others pressing for calm, analysts are optimistic about talks, although it remains to be seen when and where talks will take place. Associated Press quoted officials suggesting the venue will be in Turkey, where meetings could convene during the coming weeks. West’s focus on sanctions a slippery slope The tightening of economic sanctions against Iran by the US and Europe is counterproductive, as it promotes instead of deters Iran’s nuclear programme, according to a new report issued by the European Union Institute for Security Studies. “An encircled Iran is likely to find more reason to go for a nuclear weapon than not,” warns the paper, presented in Brussels on Thursday. Iran has responded to the US-led sanctions this week by threatening to cut off oil imports to six European countries, a move that prompted a significant rise in oil prices. Iran also announced this week that it had increased the number of working centrifuges at its main enrichment plant in Natanz from 6,000 to 9,000. Iran is the third-largest exporter of crude oil in the world, behind Saudi Arabia and Russia. India, China, Russia and other oil-thirsty emerging powers are a long way from joining the Western sanctions. Despite US pressure to help squeeze Iran’s economy, they have consistently stood their ground on remaining loyal customers of Iranian oil. Since Iran takes care of about 11 percent of India’s oil requirements it has refused to jeopardize its energy security by falling in line with the US sanctions. Energy analysts say any conflict involving Iran will have disastrous consequences on India’s crude oil market as it will send the price of crude to over $150 a barrel debilitating the Indian economy.