Category: Iran

WASHINGTON — No one knows if the Obama administration will manage in the next five weeks to strike what many in the White House consider the most important foreign policy deal of his presidency: an accord with Iran that would forestall its ability to make a nuclear weapon. But the White House has made one significant decision: If agreement is reached, President Obama will do everything in his power to avoid letting Congress vote on it. Even while negotiators argue over the number of centrifuges Iran would be allowed to spin and where inspectors could roam, the Iranians have signaled that they would accept, at least temporarily, a “suspension” of the stringent sanctions that have drastically cut their oil revenues and terminated their banking relationships with the West, according to American and Iranian officials. The Treasury Department, in a detailed study it declined to make public, has concluded Mr. […]

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  The plunge in global energy prices and the rise of Islamic State militants have emerged as wild cards in the international diplomatic effort aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program, Continue Reading

Iran says oil price slump should be a temporary trend. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian TEHRAN, Oct. 15 (UPI) — The steep decline in oil prices is a momentary market phenomenon and does little to influence the economy long-term, an Iranian oil director said. Iran this week said the decline in price for its grade of crude oil wasn’t a parallel move to keep pace with Saudi Arabia’s cuts designed to maintain its footprint in the global economy. Rokneddin Javadi, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Co., said Iran wasn’t bothered by an evolving bear market for oil . "I think the oil market slump is momentary and does not affect Iran’s budget for supplies," he said. The price for the 12 crude oil blends that make up the reference basket from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Iran is a member, was $85.14 for Wednesday, down […]

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U.S. officials said they weren’t seeking to extend nuclear negotiations with Iran beyond a Nov. 24 deadline, as Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday.  The negotiations Continue Reading

Oil sector bright spot in Iranian economy, President Hassan Rouhani says. UPI /Monika Graff TEHRAN, Oct. 14 (UPI) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday the oil sector was outpacing other parts of the economy since he took office in August last year. Rouhani said the Iranian economy shrank by 6.8 percent to 2.9 percent during the past two calendar years. Since taking office in August last year, the president said some sections of the economy were recovering . "The first sector that got out of stagnation last winter was oil," he said. "Oil exports have grown 13.7 percent [since then]." Assessment from the International Monetary Fund finds the Iranian economy was contracting, but at a slower pace than before. Sanctions imposed on the Iranian economy in response to a controversial nuclear program means oil exports are at about half of their 2.2 million barrel per day rate in […]

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Iran said Tuesday an oil price drop won’t hurt its budget and will be short-lived, suggesting the Islamic Republic has now moderated its stance on oil markets.  Iran’s calm outlook Continue Reading

No lines drawn in OPEC sand, Iranian trade representative says. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian TEHRAN, Oct. 13 (UPI) — Iran isn’t following the Saudi example of cutting oil prices in an effort to maintain any sort of market presence, a senior oil manager said from Tehran. Mohsen Qamsari, director of international affairs of the National Iranian Oil Co., said Iranian oil prices aren’t falling because of any rivalry with the Saudis . "Economic conditions, the market supply and demand and the price of petroleum products in the market are some factors behind the price slide," he said Saturday. Signs of a Chinese economic slowdown and decreased North American demands given the glut of oil there means members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are sparring for market shares. Industry insiders told The Wall Street Journal the Saudis were making an "aggressive" market move by slashing the price at which it […]

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Iran | isis | islamic state | Kobani | Shi’ism Iraqi women walk past a poster depicting images of Shi’ite Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at al-Firdous Square in Baghdad It might seem counter-intuitive to think that attacking the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, would damage Iran or Shi’ite interests in the Middle East. After all, Iran shares the West’s concerns about the radical Sunni group and is in a tacit alliance with the United States when it comes to defeating their common enemy. And yet, Iran fears it might end up being the loser in this battle. The 2003 U.S.-led war in Iraq opened a new political vista in favor of Iran — and Shi’ism — by replacing Sunni leaders, like Saddam Hussein, with Shi’ite politicians previously in exile in Iran, like Nouri al-Maliki. This shift in the balance of power between Shi’ites and […]

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VIENNA, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) — The UN nuclear agency failed to make progress over the investigation of alleged Iran ‘s nuclear weapon plan in the meetings with Tehran this week, the agency said Thursday in a press release. The UN agency’s delegation and Tehran discussed on Tuesday and Wednesday the implementation of the two practical measures relating to so called possible military dimensions (PMD issues) of Iran’s atomic plan, but none of which were agreed. "The two sides held discussions in relation to the implementation of the two practical measures relating to the initiation of high explosives and to neutron transport calculations," the agency’s press office noted in a statement on Thursday. It seems that the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ) and Tehran have started going into a circle in addressing the agency’s concern over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program since Aug. 15, the deadline Iran promised to […]

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BRUSSELS—The European Union intends to reimpose sanctions on five Iranian companies, including Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Company, and one person who won court cases that struck down the restrictions placed on them, EU officials said. The move is the latest effort to uphold the bloc’s sanctions regime against Iran and Syria after a series of legal defeats in the EU’s top courts over the last 13 months. Most of the Iran sanctions were imposed because of Tehran’s nuclear activities. On Friday, the U.K. Treasury issued a news release saying it was lifting an asset freeze on the National Iranian Tanker Company, Sina Bank, Moallem Insurance Company, Sharif University of Technology and Sorinet Commercial Trust. It also lifted the asset freeze on Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani who was jailed in Iran earlier this year. The Treasury said its move came after the EU failed to appeal decisions by the EU’s […]

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VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran has dismissed criticism by the International Atomic Energy Agency of its refusal earlier this year to let one IAEA expert into the country as part of a team investigating allegations of nuclear weapons research. Tehran said it had a sovereign right to decide who to admit onto its territory. But its failure to issue a visa to an IAEA official, who diplomatic sources said was probably a Western atomic bomb expert, may deepen longstanding Western suspicions that it is stonewalling the U.N. agency’s inquiry. The IAEA said last month that Iran had not issued a visa for one member of a team that visited Tehran on Aug. 31 to try to advance the investigation into what the U.N. agency calls the possible military dimensions of the country’s nuclear programme. It was the third time the person, whom the U.N. agency did not identify, had been […]

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DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran and major powers are set to hold multilateral and bilateral nuclear talks in the coming days in Vienna, Iran’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The discussions, between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany, are aimed at settling a more than decade long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear work. "I think that we will have bilateral and multilateral talks before the end of the next week in Vienna," ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said when asked when Iran and its negotiating partners, a grouping known as the P5+1, would next meet. Afkham, speaking at a news conference carried live on state television, did not say how long the talks would last but said without elaborating that there had been slow progress so far. Senior Iranian officials have said that Iran was likely to hold bilateral talks with the United States in […]

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York last month. Reuters More than 350 House members are calling on U.S. negotiators to demand greater transparency from Iran over its nuclear program, upping the pressure as Western powers prepare to reconvene talks with Tehran over the next two weeks. House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) were among the 354 House members who signed a letter sent Wednesday to Secretary of State John Kerry . In the letter, which was released by the top Republican and Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the lawmakers said they were concerned with Iran’s refusal to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency. “An agreement that effectively prevents Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability demands transparency on […]

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Negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program will continue within the next two weeks, a senior Western diplomat said Monday. The format for the next talks isn’t yet decided but it could be a meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who chairs the six power group that Tehran negotiates with on its nuclear program. Iran is negotiating a comprehensive nuclear agreement with six powers, which would see Tehran agree to concrete steps to constrain its nuclear activities in exchange for a phased lifting of sanctions. The deadline for those talks, which continued in New York this month, is Nov. 24. Iran denies it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. The six power group—the U.S., Germany, France, the U.K., Russia and China—have already accepted that Tehran should have some kind of future nuclear-enrichment program. In recent weeks, they have floated "creative" solutions to […]

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Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh says oil exports and revenue at acceptable levels. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian TEHRAN, Sept. 29 (UPI) — Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Monday oil exports from the Islamic republic were "acceptable" and revenue was on the rise. Iran, under the terms of a November 2013 agreement with Western powers, secured relief from some of the sanctions targeting its energy sector in exchange for a pledge to cut back on its nuclear research activity. The U.S. Treasury Department in July extended that relief through November. Iran can export around 1 million barrels of oil per day under the deal. "Iran’s oil exports are acceptable and growing currently, and revenues are higher than the previous estimates," the oil minister said. The International Monetary Fund in April said inflation and unemployment are both high in the Iranian economy and the outlook was "highly uncertain." Constraints on oil revenues […]

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With a blunt demeanor that bordered on pessimism, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran said Friday that he was unhappy over the lack of progress in resolving his country’s protracted nuclear dispute with the major powers, less than two months before their self-imposed deadline for reaching a comprehensive agreement. “The progress realized thus far has not been significant,” Mr. Rouhani said at a news conference concluding his five-day visit to the United Nations General Assembly annual meeting, his second as president. He said any movement toward an agreement had been “extremely slow.” Mr. Rouhani also questioned the motives of the United States and its allies over what he described as their newfound concern with the Islamic State, the extremist group roiling Syria and Iraq. He expressed deep skepticism that “a few aerial bombardments” like those undertaken by an American-led coalition could eradicate the Islamic State and its affiliates. He repeatedly […]

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West Texas Intermediate crude capped its biggest weekly gain in a month on speculation stronger U.S. economic growth will increase demand. WTI narrowed its discount to Brent to a one-year low. The U.S. economy expanded in the second quarter at the fastest rate since the last three months of 2011, the Commerce Department said. Brent dropped for a third week in four as ample supplies shield the oil market from the U.S. military campaign against Islamic State. Gasoline tumbled after reaching this month’s high yesterday. “Improving U.S. economic conditions should improve the fundamental outlook here,” said Gene McGillian , an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford , Connecticut . “The market is trying to stabilize. We still have a lot of supply out there and that’s weighing on the overall market.” WTI for November delivery rose $1.01, or 1.1 percent, to settle at $93.54 a barrel on […]

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A week of talks between Iran and six powers over Tehran’s nuclear program made little headway in closing gaps on the most difficult issues, Western diplomats said Friday, though U.S. Continue Reading

Rouhani: Courage needed to clinch nuclear deal Iran President Hassan Rouhani said Friday “courageous decisions” must be made to clinch a long-term nuclear agreement and that any deal without the lifting of all sanctions against Tehran was “unacceptable.” Speaking to reporters in New York on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly, he added that progress in the latest round of talks between Iran and six world powers has been “extremely slow.” “We must look forward to the future and make the courageous decisions vis-a-vis this problem,” Rouhani said. “ Iran will never surrender its legal right to civilian nuclear activities,” he added. “Enrichment will continue on our soil.” “Sanctions should be lifted totally and altogether and any agreement that does not have that will not be acceptable for Iran. This agreement will be beneficial for Iran, the P5+1 and for stability in the region,” he said. A […]

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Iranian President Hasan Rouhani addresses the United Nations General Assembly Thursday. Adrees Latif /Reuters UNITED NATIONS—Iranian President Hasan Rouhani signaled Iran could ramp up its cooperation with the west over the threat posed by Islamic State if there is a successful conclusion to nuclear talks with six major powers. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Mr. Rouhani said the fight against Islamic State should be led by regional players but said a nuclear deal would open the way for international collaboration on the threat. If the nuclear talks succeed, "an entirely different environment will emerge for cooperation at the regional and international levels," he said. That would allow "greater focus on some very important regional issues—such as combating violence and extremism in the region." Iran, which is a key ally of the Assad regime in Syria, has criticized the U.S.-led coalition against Sunni […]

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 25 (UPI) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is in the United States to attend a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. During a meeting with Austrian President Hans Fischer, the Iranian leader said gas installations in western Iran could link to Europe. "Iran can be a secure energy center for Europe," the Iranian president said. Iran has held out its natural gas reserves to a European community eager to break Russia’s grip on the regional energy sector. It touted its gas as an option to fill the now-shelved Nabucco pipeline through Turkey to Europe, though sanctions have interfered with Iran’s ambitions. Nevertheless, an Iranian president seen as a moderate when compared with his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran enjoys a "unique" position in the regional energy sector. Iran has the second largest deposits of natural gas in the world, though the sector is underdeveloped because of […]

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NEW YORK—U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif on Sunday for talks on Iran’s nuclear program and the threat posed by Sunni extremist group Islamic State, a senior State Department official said. The discussions on Syria come as Washington and Tehran have both insisted they won’t cooperate militarily in the fight against Islamic State in Iraq or Syria. The U.S. is building an international coalition to fight Islamic State but so far has excluded Iran from that group, although the two countries have discussed events in Iraq a number of times in recent weeks. Mr. Zarif has slammed the U.S.-led group as "the coalition of the repenters," saying many of the countries now pledging to fight the Sunni extremists have been supplying or assisting them over the past few years. A State Department official said Mr. Kerry and Mr. Zarif met for over an […]

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UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Iran is ready to work with the United States and its allies to stop Islamic State militants, but would like more flexibility on Iran’s uranium enrichment program in exchange, senior Iranian officials told Reuters. The comments from the officials, who asked not to be named, highlight how difficult it may be for the Western powers to keep the nuclear negotiations separate from other regional conflicts. Iran wields influence in the Syrian civil war and on the Iraqi government, which is fighting the advance of Islamic State fighters. Iran has sent mixed signals about its willingness to cooperate on defeating Islamic State (IS), a hard-line Sunni Islamist group that has seized large swaths of territory across Syria and Iraq and is blamed for a wave of sectarian violence, beheadings and massacres of civilians. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said recently that he vetoed a U.S. […]

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Over the years, the United States has shown considerable ingenuity in its effort to slow Iran ’s production of nuclear fuel: It has used sabotage, cyberattacks and creative economic sanctions. Now, mixing face-saving diplomacy and innovative technology, negotiators are attempting a new approach, suggesting that the Iranians call in a plumber. The idea is to convince the Iranians to take away many of the pipes that connect their nuclear centrifuges, the giant machines that are connected together in a maze that allows uranium fuel to move from one machine to another, getting enriched along the way. That way, the Iranians could claim they have not given in to Western demands that they eliminate all but a token number of their 19,000 machines, in which Iran has invested billions of dollars and tremendous national pride. And if the plumbing is removed, experts at America’s national nuclear laboratories have told the […]

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NEW YORK—The first full round of nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers resumed Friday in New York after a two-month gap, with Western officials saying the coming days are critical to reaching a deal by the Nov. 24 deadline. The talks are taking place to the backdrop of the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting, meaning leaders and foreign ministers from Iran and the six powers will be in town. Western officials say they hope that will inject some needed momentum into discussions and help them answer their biggest question of whether Iran’s negotiating team has political cover to accept a major cut in Tehran’s current nuclear-enrichment program under a final deal. "We are entering the crucial phase of the…negotiations with Iran," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters Friday. "There is no more room for Iran to play for time. We are willing to offer Iran […]

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — With little more than two months to deadline, Iran and six world powers on Friday launched a fresh effort at narrowing stubborn differences on what nuclear concessions Tehran must agree to in exchange for full sanctions relief. The talks once again bring Iran to the negotiating table with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. But this time they are taking place on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. That means U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterparts will likely join in, adding their diplomatic muscle to the meeting. With the clock ticking down, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the talks had entered a "crucial phase," and suggested Iran would be to blame if the sides failed to seal a deal. "There is no more room for Iran to play for time," he told reporters, urging Tehran to "move […]

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NEW YORK—The U.S. team negotiating a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran were "not very optimistic" about the chances of a breakthrough in the talks, a senior U.S. official said Thursday, but bilateral discussions with Iran over the last 24 hours have been "constructive." "Coming into New York, many of us were not very optimistic," the official said. However, after discussions with Iran Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, "it is clear that everyone has come here to go to work." The official said U.S. President Barack Obama is "open to" meeting with Iranian President Hasan Rouhani on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next week but that there was no meeting scheduled. The official said "the choice is really Iran’s." Mr. Obama and Mr. Rouhani held a historic 15-minute phone conversation at last year’s annual General Assembly meeting. Iran is negotiating a nuclear deal with the U.S. and […]

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Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, left, and Italian foreign minister and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, speak at a joint news conference after a meeting in Rome this week. AFP/Getty Images NEW YORK—Iran is committed to reaching a nuclear deal and could "live with" an agreement that placed constraints on their activities for less than 10 years, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Wednesday. Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Mr. Zarif said "we are committed to resolving this issue." Mr. Zarif said Iran couldn’t accept an agreement which lasted for 10 or 15 years "but I’m willing to live with less." U.S. officials have said privately they want an agreement that curtails Iran’s future nuclear program for as many as 20 years. After that, they say, Iran will be free to expand its nuclear program. Mr. Zarif’s comments come ahead of […]

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TEHRAN, Sept. 15 (UPI) — Gas can’t be sent through a pipeline to a power plant in Iraq until next year because of the security situation there, an Iranian development official said. The 60-mile pipeline is designed to export 176 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from Iran’s offshore South Pars field. Iraq, for its part, has struggled to ensure around-the-clock electricity despite its vast natural resource wealth. Alireza Gharibi, managing director of the Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Co., said the pipeline was ready for full-scale testing, but couldn’t pinpoint a set date for normal operations . "Iran’s gas cannot be exported to Iraq under the current insecure conditions, hence it will be exported to Iraq early next year," he said Saturday. U.S. and international forces are coordinating a measured response to help Iraq contain militants with the Islamic State, a Sunni-led terrorist group in control […]

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VIENNA (AP) — The head of the U.N. nuclear agency is indicating that his attempted probe of allegations that Iran worked on nuclear arms is going slowly. Yukiya Amano of the International Atomic Energy Agency says that Tehran has not met his request to propose two new areas of investigation by Sept. 2. He says that discussions have begun on two other alleged series of experiments that the two sides agreed on earlier but does not say whether his agency is getting the answers it seeks. Amano spoke Monday to the opening session of the IAEA’s 35-nation board meeting. Iran says it does not want nuclear arms and never worked toward them. But the agency says it has collected about 1,000 pages of information that point to attempts to develop such weapons.

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 (UPI) — The U.S. government is taking a wait-and-see approach to the "rumors" of an oil-for-goods deal between Russia and Iran, a State Department spokesperson said. Iran and Russia have cooperated in the nuclear energy sector and more recently mulled the prospects of working on a deal for Iran to deliver oil to Russia. "In the past [we] had said we saw nothing at that time to indicate any real progress had been made in terms of that kind of agreement," spokesperson Marie Harf said during a Wednesday briefing. "There are lots of rumors about what may actually transpire from this, so we will watch and see." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is scheduled to meet Friday in Tajikistan with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This week, Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian hosted Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak for a two-day summit concluding in Tehran. Russian officials during […]

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There are few barriers in the way of expanded ties in the energy sectors of Iran and Russia, officials said during bilateral meetings in Tehran. Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian hosted Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak for a two-day summit concluding Tuesday in Tehran. Both sides already cooperate in a variety of fields, with Russia supplying fuel for Iran’s nuclear reactor at Bushehr. The Iranian minister said Russia agreed to help build four new conventional power plants in Iran. The new facilities could add as much as 3,500 megawatts of electricity to the Iranian grid. Russian officials during the summit said energy is an "instrumental" part of the bilateral relationship with Iran. Western governments have expressed concern over the possibility that Iran was working on an oil-for-goods swap deal with Russia. Iran is the target of Western sanctions imposed in response to a controversial nuclear program, while Russia’s energy […]

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OTTAWA (Reuters) – Iran is far apart from the six world powers negotiating with it over scaling back its nuclear program, but that gap could be narrowed in talks next week, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said on Monday. Iran and the powers failed to meet a July 20 target date for an agreement and are due to hold their first negotiating round since then in New York on Sept. 18. The deadline for a deal has been extended to Nov. 24. "My hope is that we will make progress. … We believe although we are far apart, there is the possibility of being able to narrow the gap," Catherine Ashton told reporters in Ottawa when asked about her expectations for the New York round. "But we are determined in so doing to do it fully aware that the world is watching and expecting that any agreement must […]

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GENEVA (Reuters) – Iran and the United States began bilateral nuclear talks in Geneva on Thursday, the second time the two sides have met since Iran and six world powers failed to meet a July 20 deadline to resolve differences in the long-standing dispute. State news agency IRNA and a U.S. official confirmed the talks were underway. Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia have set a new deadline of Nov. 24 to negotiate a comprehensive agreement under which Tehran would scale back its nuclear activities in exchange for gradually ending the sanctions that have crippled its oil-dependent economy. "If there is good will and a constructive approach, we can reach a desired result before Nov. 24," IRNA quoted Iran’s deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi as saying late on Wednesday. The United States last week penalized a number of Iranian and other foreign companies, banks […]

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| License Photo Following an announcement of new U.S. sanctions on Iran, an energy official in Tehran said the country is looking to vastly expand its nuclear power capacity. Ebrahim Karkhaneh, the director of a nuclear energy subcommittee in the Iranian parliament, said Iran is already generating 1,000 megawatts of power from its Bushehr nuclear power facility. Studies are under way to expand that output , in part with the help of Russia, which already supplies nuclear fuel to Bushehr. "We hope that the country would be able to increase nuclear power generation to 8,000 megawatts," Karkhaneh said Monday. The U.S. Treasury Department last week unveiled what it said was a diverse new set of sanctions meant to curb Iran’s nuclear and missile ambitions. Iran secured relief from some sanctions last year in exchange for curbing its nuclear research activity, though U.S. Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David […]

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WASHINGTON—The U.S. imposed a range of sanctions designed to exert new pressure against Iran and deter international business leaders from circumventing Washington’s existing punitive measures as talks continue over the country’s nuclear program. The steps announced Friday come amid growing concern in the Obama administration that Iran isn’t ready to make the concessions needed to clinch a nuclear deal. The U.S. Treasury and State departments said the sanctions will punish a bank that provides U.S. dollar bills to the Iranian government; a group that helped Iran evade sanctions on oil and petrochemicals; several transportation firms that helped deliver weapons and personnel to the Assad regime in Syria; and some individuals and organizations that support Iran’s nuclear program. The new measures put the U.S. in the delicate position of imposing new sanctions at the same time it is rolling back a series of existing measures following initial progress in international […]

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Iran can sell about 1 million barrels of oil per day on the international market under the terms of an agreement reached with Western powers in exchange for a commitment to curb nuclear research activity. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said a five-member group vetting future oil contracts is "precise" when determining export destinations. "Many countries are willing to buy Iran’s oil, but when studies are made, we find out that there is not even $1 million in their accounts, not to mention enough money to pay for an oil cargo," he said Wednesday. Zanganeh said the country aims to more than double its crude oil production from 2.5 million barrels per day to 5.7 million bpd within the next three years. Oil sales for the first four months of the year were up 5 percent when compared with last year, the government said.

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Atomic power engineers in Iran have started redesigning a partly constructed reactor in the northwest city of Arak to limit the amount of plutonium it produces, the country’s top nuclear official said Wednesday, expressing hope that the change would help alleviate Western objections that the plutonium could be used in weapons. The official, Ali Akbar Salehi, the director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, did not specify how much plutonium would be produced under the redesign of the reactor, which officials have said was constructed for the peaceful purpose of creating medical isotopes. But in remarks reported by Iran’s state-run Press TV website, Mr. Salehi said experts at the facility had offered to “redesign the heart of the reactor in order to allay the concerns of some countries.” Both plutonium and uranium can be used as the fuel of nuclear weapons . The Arak reactor is one of […]

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Sanctions targeting the Iranian energy sector have curtailed development of the South Pars natural gas field, the Iranian energy minister said Tuesday. Iranian Energy Minister Bijan Zangeneh said sanctions imposed in response to Iran’s controversial nuclear research program means the Iranian economy is using more fuel oil than it would if South Pars were fully developed. "Unfair sanctions against Iran have delayed the implementation of projects for gas production from the giant South Pars field," he said in a statement. Iran in mid August said natural gas production during the first four months of the Iranian year, which begins March 21, was up 30 percent year-on-year. South Pars accounts for about 35 percent of the total volume of gas produced from Iran. In the past, the government has held out the field’s output as an option for Europe. Zanganeh said in May his government was "always willing" to play […]

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BRUSSELS–The European Union and Iran will meet next Monday in Brussels to pave the way for a fresh round of international negotiations on Tehran’s disputed nuclear program, the European Commission said Monday. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Brussels. Baroness Ashton is leading negotiations on behalf of six major powers to reach a comprehensive agreement with Tehran to address international concerns over its nuclear work. International negotiators had hoped to reach a landmark deal by July, but they agreed during talks in Vienna last month to extend the deadline to Nov. 24 . A new, full round of negotiations will take place in New York in the run-up to the opening of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 16. "This is an important meeting in the context of getting ready for that next big round of talks," said a […]

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