On April 16th, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Iran causing tremors that could be felt in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and western Saudi Arabia. This is only a week after a worrying 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Kaki, a southern Iranian town located just 60 miles from Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station.
Iran’s Nuclear Program
Iran Update No. 167
The E3+3, Iran, and the Almaty talks
Last week's talks were deemed by many commentators as a failure. Rather than responding directly to the E3+3’s (P5+1's) agenda around initial small confidence-building steps, the Iranian delegation appears to have looked for reassurances that the end-state would include lifting the sanctions and recognition of Iran’s right to enrich, and that the group of six was serious in recognizing objectives of the Iranian delegation.
E3+3 (P5+1) meet tomorrow with Iran in Kazakhstan
The E3+3 (P5+1: United States, United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and Germany) will meet with Iran on Tuesday for official talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the first formal meeting in eight months. These talks follow last week’s update report from the IAEA on Iran’s nuclear program, indicating that a new type of centrifuge was installed at Iran’s main uranium enrichment plant, Natanz, that could speed up the enrichment process, and increase the accumulation of 20 per cent low-enriched uranium.
Iran Update 165
- Next E3+3 talks finally scheduled; Iran-U.S. bi-lateral talks a possibility
- Another round of IAEA talks conclude without progress; next meeting scheduled for mid-February
- Iran’s nuclear program prominent subject for Obama’s nominees at confirmation hearings
Iran meets with IAEA representatives again
Representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran will meet in Tehran on Wednesday of this week to discuss inspections and verification arrangements. The meeting follows several previous unsuccessful attempts between the two sides to agree on a path forward on how to address the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran Update 164
- Iranian officials meeting with IAEA delegation today
- International concern over developments at Bushehr
- Iran displays ‘downed’ ScanEagle drone
- Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak to resign
- Associated Press publishes inaccurate document that claims to show advanced nuclear program
The E3+3 discuss Iran after release of IAEA report
On Wednesday, Catherine Ashton, will host representatives from the E3+3 (P5+1: US, UK, China, Russia, France, and Germany) in Brussels to discuss continued efforts to find a diplomatic solution to discourage Iran from augmenting its nuclear program. Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has facilitated meetings between the E3+3 and Iran since 2009, which have so far yielded limited results.
Iran: the deescalatory options
Paul Ingram, BASIC's executive director, authored an article for OpenDemocracy on the tensions between Iran and the West, and the options for deescalating the threats of war. While many politicians in Washington and in the Middle East are calling for an attack on Iran, public opinion favors engagement and reaching a solution diplomatically. He writes, 'the key lies in building credible strategies that address the core interests of all sides in this conflict.'