Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili expressed optimism yesterday that weekend talks attended for the first time by the US over their nuclear standoff would be constructive, provided Washington came with the right approach.
“What is important for us is with what approach they come to the talks. If it is with a constructive approach, and that they refrain from past mistakes, then for sure we will have constructive talks,” he was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency before leaving Tehran for Geneva.
Jalili is to meet EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana today to discuss a package of incentives offered by world powers to Tehran.
And, in a major policy shift by Washington, US UnderSecretary of State William Burns will be at the talks.
US officials said this week that the “new tactic” amounted to sending a signal to Iran that Washington wanted a negotiated settlement to the deadlock over Iran’s refusal to bow to international demands.
Washington has long said it will not negotiate with Iran until it first suspends enrichment and insisted on Wednesday that Burns was travelling to Geneva to listen to Iran’s response and not negotiate.
Nonetheless, it will be the first time that the US, which severed relations with Iran in 1980 after the Islamic revolution, will be present in the negotiations aimed at persuading Tehran to freeze uranium enrichment.
On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki also expressed hope that the imminent talks would produce “positive developments” and voiced satisfaction at US involvement.
“The presence of an American delegate in Geneva will help the United States be informed directly,” Motataki said during a visit to Syria, Iran’s closest regional ally.
“We hope that the meeting in Geneva on Saturday will produce positive developments on the ground,” he told a news conference.
Western countries suspect that Iran is secretly trying to develop the atomic bomb and the UN has slapped several sets of sanctions on Tehran over its refusal to halt enrichment.
Iran vehemently denies seeking nuclear weapons.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese