Arab Times

Powers to offer sanctions relief

Iran seeks significan­t concession­s

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ALMATY, Feb 25, (RTRS): Major powers will offer Iran some sanctions relief during talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, this week if Tehran agrees to curb its nuclear programme, a US official said on Monday.

But the Islamic Republic could face more economic pain if it fails to address internatio­nal concerns about its atomic activities, the official said ahead of the Feb 26-27 meeting in the central Asian state, speaking on condition of anonymity. “There will be continued sanctions enforcemen­t ... there are other areas where pressure can be put,” the official said, on the eve of the first round of negotiatio­ns between Iran and six world powers in eight months.

A spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who leads the talks with Iran on behalf of the powers, said Tehran should understand that there was an “urgent need to make concrete and tangible progress” in Kazakhstan.

Both Russia and the United States stressed there was not an unlimited amount of time to resolve a dispute that has raised fears of a new war in the Middle East.

“The window for a diplomatic solution simply cannot by definition remain open forever. But it is open today. It is open now,” US Secretary of State John Kerry told a news conference in London. “There is still time but there is only time if Iran makes the decision to come to the table and negotiate in good faith.”

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said there was “no more time to waste”, Interfax news agency quoted him as saying in Almaty.

The immediate priority for the powers — the United States, Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France — is to convince Iran to halt its higher-grade enrichment, which is a relatively short technical step away from potential atom bomb material.

Iran, which has taken steps over the last year to expand its uranium enrichment activities in defiance of internatio­nal demands to scale it back, wants a relaxation of increasing­ly harsh sanctions hurting its lifeline oil exports.

Western officials say the Almaty meeting is unlikely to

produce any major breakthrou­gh, in part because Iran’s presidenti­al election in June may make it difficult for it to make significan­t concession­s before then for domestic reasons.

But they say they hope that Iran will take their proposals seriously and engage in negotiatio­ns to try to find a diplomatic settlement.

“No one is expecting to walk out of here with a deal but ... confidence building measures are important,” one senior Western official said.

The stakes are high: Israel, assumed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed arsenal, has strongly hinted at possible military action to prevent its old foe from obtaining such arms. Iran has threatened to retaliate if attacked.

The US official said the powers’ updated offer to Iran — a modified version of one rejected by Iran in the unsuccessf­ul talks last year — would take into account its recent nuclear advances but also take “some steps in the sanctions arena”.

This would be aimed at addressing some of Iran’s concerns, the official said, while making clear it would not meet Tehran’s demand of an easing of all puni-

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