On Saturday, nuclear talks in Istanbul on Iran's nuclear program ended. The Washington Post reported that diplomatic efforts to end the eight-year-old impasse over Iran's nuclear program ran aground Saturday after Iranian officials refused to bargain with the United States and other world powers unless they first agreed to conditions including an immediate halt to economic sanctions. There was no discussion of further talks in the near future. The group's unanimity could enhance prospects for a broad international agreement on future sanctions or other punitive measures to force concessions from Iran in the future, the officials said.
The New York Times published an article headlined "Talks on Iran's Nuclear Program Close With No Progress." It says that Western officials expressed disappointment, but not surprise. They reiterated that their proposals, including a modified deal under which Iran would ship out most of its enriched uranium in return for nuclear fuel, were still in effect should Iran choose to open talks without preconditions. The head of the delegation of the six world powers, Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign policy chief, said: "Our proposals remain on the table. Our door remains open. Our telephone lines remain open." But she said the Iranian chief negotiator, Saeed Jalili, made no promise even to raise the proposals in Tehran and report back.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday that Iran's Foreign Ministry has barred the mayor of Tehran, a rival of conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, from traveling to the United States to be honored for improving the capital's public transportation system. Tehran, along with the Chinese city of Guangzhou, the Spanish city of Leon, the Peruvian capital of Lima, and the French city of Nantes, are finalists for the 2011 Sustainable Transport Award bestowed by the international transport institute.
On Sunday the Washington Post continued analysis of the nuclear talks' results. "After failed Iran nuclear talks: What now?" said that still, Iran seems determined to let nothing stop it from expanding enrichment, even starting a smaller program that is churning out material that can be turned into weapons-grade uranium much more quickly than its large stockpile of low-enriched uranium. Neither "resolutions, sanctions, threats, computer virus nor even a military attack will stop uranium enrichment in Iran," Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, declared as the talks began.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has presented the acting foreign minister to parliament to be approved as the new top envoy for the nation. Ali Larijani, the parliament speaker, said in Sunday's parliament session that Ali Akbar Salehi had been put forward by the government as the new foreign minister. The parliament will discuses the nominee in late January, added the speaker. Under the law any minister needs approval by the parliament. Earlier in December, Ahmadinejad fired Manouchehr Mottaki, his long-time minister and appointed Salehi as caretaker of the ministry. Dismissal of Mottaki prompted outcry among lawmakers.
The Turkish information agency Hurriyet published the article which said that Iran is open to holding further talks with the six world powers over its nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday, a day after the failure of the latest round of dialogue. Ahmadinejad's remarks came after the world powers expressed disappointment over the two days of talks held in Istanbul, even as the United States and Germany voiced hopes of holding new negotiations with the Islamic republic. Ahmadinejad, under whose presidency the nuclear program has grown, said however that the talks created the conditions for "good agreements in future sessions" as both sides met and got acquainted to each other's views.
Today the Los Angeles Times reports that Iran executed 2 opposition members convicted over post-election turmoil. Jafar Kazemi and Mohammad Ali Hajaghaei were executed Monday after an appeals court upheld their death sentences. they filmed and distributed footage of massive anti-government protests that swept Iran after the disputed presidential election in June 2009. The opposition contends Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won through ballot fraud. The two men were also accused of visiting the group's base in neighboring Iraq for training. The opposition says more than 80 demonstrators were killed in the post-election unrest. The government puts the deaths at 30, accusing the opposition of seeking to topple the ruling system.
Press TV published an article headlined 'Iran constructing 5,000 km railway.' It says that Earlier in January, Iran had announced China's interest in participating in the construction of eight railroad projects with a total length of about 5,000 kilometers in the Islamic Republic. The projects included the Tehran-Mashhad 900-kilometer railway line, the 410-kilometer Tehran-Qom-Esfahan railway line, and the 370-kilometer Qazvin-Rasht-Anzali-Astara railway line. The Iranian official overseeing the projects, Massoud Rahnama, estimated that the projects would cost about USD 12 billion. Iranian officials have announced future plans to expand the railroad westward to Iraq and ultimately to Syria.
