Category: Iran

Tensions between the West and Russia over events in Ukraine have cast a shadow over the second round of talks set to begin on Tuesday in Vienna on a permanent nuclear agreement with Iran. Although the talks have no direct connection to Ukraine, their success hinges on solidarity among the so-called P5-plus-one countries — the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, which include Russia, plus Germany — in favor of a tough agreement with Iran to drastically scale back its nuclear program. If Russia signals that its cooperation with the West has weakened, that will reduce pressure on Iran to make concessions, said experts knowledgeable about the talks, which began last month with three days of meetings involving senior diplomats from each of the governments involved.

Iran and six major powers begin a fresh round of high-level nuclear talks in Vienna on Tuesday morning, with negotiators aiming to narrow gaps on a host of issues as the two sides seek a final, comprehensive agreement by mid-July. The talks, which aim to settle international concerns about Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting the tight web of sanctions on Iran, are the first since tensions erupted within the six-power group over Ukraine. The European Union and U.S. imposed sanctions Monday on more than a dozen Russian officials as Moscow appeared set to recognize the independence of Ukraine’s Russian-speaking Crimea region. Iran, which has repeatedly said its nuclear activities are for purely peaceful purposes, is in talks with Russia, the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K. and China over its nuclear activities. U.S. and European officials say they hope the Ukraine crisis won’t complicate the Iran nuclear […]

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A Iranian demonstrator holds a photo of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally to mark the 34th anniversary of the 1979 U.S. embassy takeover in Tehran, Iran, on November 4, 2013. Close Close Open Photographer: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images A Iranian demonstrator holds a photo of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally to mark the 34th anniversary of the 1979 U.S. embassy takeover in Tehran, Iran, on November 4, 2013. Red-hot furnaces, oil rigs that glint in the sun, tankers carving through silver seas, all set to the Star Wars soundtrack. This, suggests ’s state television, is what an “economy of resistance” looks like. While the music is Hollywood, the four-minute broadcasts reflect the vision of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who authored a defiant February decree that sought the overhaul of an economy that remains crippled by global sanctions . Buccaneering […]

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Easing sanctions on Iran are already driving up Iran’s petrochemical sales to Asia, a top Iranian oil official said Thursday. The news is the latest sign that an interim nuclear deal between six world powers and Iran is giving a breather to Iran’s battered economy. "We have [made] some progress" in selling petrochemicals to Asia. Petrochemicals are one of the country’s main sources of exports revenue after crude oil, Mohammad-Hossein Peyvandi, the deputy head of the state-owned National Iranian Petrochemical Co., said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. As part of the nuclear deal, the U.S. suspended sanctions on 14 major Iranian petrochemical companies, making it less risky both politically and legally for Asian buyers to purchase their products. Still, Mr. Peyvandi said the domestic industry could further benefit from the return of European Union companies—which are still banned from providing technology to Iran. The official said […]

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Easing sanctions on Iran are already driving up Iran’s petrochemical sales to Asia, a top Iranian oil official said Thursday. The news is the latest sign that an interim nuclear deal between six world powers and Iran is giving a breather to Iran’s battered economy. "We have [made] some progress" in selling petrochemicals to Asia. Petrochemicals are one of the country’s main sources of exports revenue after crude oil, Mohammad-Hossein Peyvandi, the deputy head of the state-owned National Iranian Petrochemical Co., said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. As part of the nuclear deal, the U.S. suspended sanctions on 14 major Iranian petrochemical companies, making it less risky both politically and legally for Asian buyers to purchase their products. Still, Mr. Peyvandi said the domestic industry could further benefit from the return of European Union companies—which are still banned from providing technology to Iran. The official said […]

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Iran’s oil exports peaked at a one-year high in the past two months, a top energy agency said Friday, as a thaw in relations with the West boosts the troubled economy of the Islamic Republic. But the boost in oil exports—if it continues—threatens to exceed a cap on exports Iran agreed to as part of an interim deal over its nuclear program. The deal between Iran and six global powers requires that Iran’s shipments shouldn’t average more than 1 million barrels a day of crude over the six months of the agreement, which started Jan 20. In its authoritative monthly oil report, the International Energy Agency said crude exports of Iranian oil averaged 1.16 million barrels a day in January and, based on preliminary estimates, stayed put in February. That compares with average crude exports of 1 million barrels a day in 2013, based on the report. Though bans […]

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Iran’s oil exports peaked at a one-year high in the past two months, a top energy agency said Friday, as a thaw in relations with the West boosts the troubled economy of the Islamic Republic. But the boost in oil exports—if it continues—threatens to exceed a cap on exports Iran agreed to as part of an interim deal over its nuclear program. The deal between Iran and six global powers requires that Iran’s shipments shouldn’t average more than 1 million barrels a day of crude over the six months of the agreement, which started Jan 20. In its authoritative monthly oil report, the International Energy Agency said crude exports of Iranian oil averaged 1.16 million barrels a day in January and, based on preliminary estimates, stayed put in February. That compares with average crude exports of 1 million barrels a day in 2013, based on the report. Though bans […]

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The Iranian foreign minister raised doubts about the West’s commitment to resolving the nuclear standoff in a pointed message to visiting European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. Baroness Ashton met on Sunday with President Hasan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Ali Larijani, the powerful speaker of the parliament, and Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It was her first visit to the country and one of the highest-profile visits by a Western official since nuclear talks advanced late last year. The talks covered a range of issues from Iran’s disputed nuclear program to the conflict in Syria, human rights and Afghanistan. After lengthy talks, Mr. Zarif publicly questioned the West’s commitment to a full nuclear deal and about whether an interim deal reached in November was being properly implemented. "It is up to the other side [to] come to the […]

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Iran’s moderate-leaning president has strongly criticized hard-line officials for ordering reformist newspapers shut down. Judicial authorities ordered two pro-reform newspapers – Aseman and Bahar – closed in recent months on allegations of questioning Islamic principles. President Hassan Rouhani told reporters Saturday that it was wrong to close down a newspaper on its first offense just because one writer was seen as inappropriate. His comments were broadcast live on state TV. Rouhani said his opponents were free to attack him. Hard-line media has denounced the historic nuclear deal his administration reached with world powers in Geneva last year a "poisoned chalice." Iran’s hard-line judiciary has shut down more than 150 pro-reform newspapers and jailed dozens of editors and writers, often on vague charges of insulting authorities, since 2000. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten […]

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Iran’s foreign minister pushed back Wednesday against calls for deeper cuts to its nuclear program. Mohammad Javad Zarif said the West "cannot entertain illusions" of Iran completely ending its uranium enrichment program. Speaking in Tokyo, he also reiterated that his country is not going to halt construction of a heavy-water nuclear reactor. "We’re not going to close it. We’re not going to dismantle it. We’re not going to close or dismantle anything, that is our red line," he said at a news conference before meetings with the Japanese prime minister and foreign minister. "But we will address proliferation concerns that people may have." His remarks came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Washington, D.C., that Iran must dismantle its enrichment facilities and the reactor. Iran is trying to negotiate a deal with the U.S. and five other global powers to […]

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Iran is reducing its enriched uranium nuclear stockpile as required by its  landmark deal with world powers , but much work remains to be done to resolve all concerns about Tehran’s activities, the United Nations atomic watchdog chief, Yukiya Amano , said Monday. Among measures Iran is taking since the  interim agreement took effect on Jan. 20  is the dilution of its stock of higher-enriched uranium to a fissile concentration less suitable for any attempt to fuel an atomic bomb. Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), indicated that Iran had made sufficient progress in this regard to receive a scheduled March 1 installment of $450 million out of a total of $4.2 billion in previously blocked overseas funds. The IAEA has a  pivotal role  in checking that Iran is living up to its part of the six-month accord in curbing its disputed nuclear program in […]

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Asian buyers increased purchases of Iranian crude by 22 percent in January from a year ago as the grip of sanctions imposed since 2012 loosened following a landmark agreement in November to curtail Tehran’s nuclear programme. The OPEC member’s oil sales in January to its four biggest buyers topped the 1 million barrels per day (bpd) where Western powers wanted to hold shipments to maintain pressure on Iran to end the disputed programme. China, India, Japan and South Korea together bought an average of 1.25 million bpd last month, government and industry data showed. They bought 1.03 million bpd in January a year ago. Increased crude exports from Iran may […]

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Asian buyers increased purchases of Iranian crude by 22 percent in January from a year ago as the grip of sanctions imposed since 2012 loosened following a landmark agreement in November to curtail Tehran’s nuclear programme. The OPEC member’s oil sales in January to its four biggest buyers topped the 1 million barrels per day (bpd) where Western powers wanted to hold shipments to maintain pressure on Iran to end the disputed programme. China, India, Japan and South Korea together bought an average of 1.25 million bpd last month, government and industry data showed. They bought 1.03 million bpd in January a year ago. Increased crude exports from Iran may […]

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Iran will offer foreign partners incentives to find and pump more crude and natural gas and will pay some fees in barrels as it seeks to boost income once international sanctions are lifted. New contracts Iran is developing will offer higher fees for riskier exploration and production projects, oil-ministry officials said at a conference in Tehran yesterday. Local and international executives attended a two-day meeting to discuss rules that would govern oil and gas production if Western curbs on Iranian energy exports are removed. The committee revising the Islamic republic’s contract model presented terms called the “Iran Petroleum Contract.” “We’ve analyzed all the contracts in the market right now, all available beneficial models, and this is what we’ve come up with,” Mehdi Hosseini, a government energy adviser who leads the ministry committee, said at the conference. “This is a good model, with flexibility.” Iran, a member of the Organization […]

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A unilateral U.S. oil embargo on Iran is expected to remain in place even if a long-term nuclear agreement between Tehran and six world powers is reached that includes an easing of international sanctions, a U.S. official said on Thursday. The embargo pre-dates the decade-long nuclear dispute with Iran. Washington cut off diplomatic ties with Tehran during a hostage crisis shortly following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and began imposing sanctions around the same time. "The American domestic oil embargo is expected to remain in place even if a comprehensive agreement is reached," the U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Western diplomats say U.S. companies would be unhappy about being left out if European Union and U.N. sanctions are lifted, allowing non-U.S. firms to resume business with the Islamic Republic. Iranian officials say they would have no problem with American oil companies returning to Iran. […]

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Iran and world powers set a schedule for five months of negotiations in a race to agree on a definitive nuclear accord before their interim deal expires in July. Government experts from the U.S., the U.K., France , Germany , Russia , China and Iran will try to address the most contentious aspects of Iran’s disputed nuclear activities, said European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton , who leads talks with Iran on behalf of the six. Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will meet monthly, with the next gathering set for Vienna on March 17. Before that, Ashton will make a first visit to Tehran, Zarif said. Both sides used the talks in the Austrian capital to probe each other’s willingness to compromise. Even so, reaching a comprehensive accord that puts international concerns to rest and is acceptable to Iran is something that both U.S. President […]

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Iran and six world powers on Thursday announced that they have agreed on a plan meant to produce a comprehensive deal that reduces concerns about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Officials of both sides described their plans as "very productive." In a joint statement, they said the next round of negotiations would begin in Vienna on March. 17. "We’ve identified the issues we need to address for a comprehensive and final agreement," said Catherine Ashton, the EU’s top diplomat who convened the talks between Iran and the six powers – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany . "It won’t be easy, but we’ve gotten off to a good start," she said in a statement later read in Farsi by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Expectations of major progress from the three days of talks in Vienna were modest because the two sides […]

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Six world powers and Iran made a "good start" during talks in Vienna towards reaching a final settlement on Tehran’s contested nuclear program, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Thursday. Speaking to reporters after three days of negotiations, Ashton said the two sides had identified the ingredients of an accord that could put an end to years of hostility between the West and the oil producing nation. But she cautioned that future negotiations, which western governments want to wrap up by late July, would not be easy. "We have had three very productive days during which we have identified all of the issues we need to address in reaching a comprehensive and final agreement," she told reporters. "There is a lot to do. It won’t be easy but we have made a good start." Senior diplomats from the six powers – the United […]

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Six world powers and Iran made a "good start" during talks in Vienna towards reaching a final settlement on Tehran’s contested nuclear program, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Thursday. Speaking to reporters after three days of negotiations, Ashton said the two sides had identified the ingredients of an accord that could put an end to years of hostility between the West and the oil producing nation. But she cautioned that future negotiations, which western governments want to wrap up by late July, would not be easy. "We have had three very productive days during which we have identified all of the issues we need to address in reaching a comprehensive and final agreement," she told reporters. "There is a lot to do. It won’t be easy but we have made a good start." Senior diplomats from the six powers – the United […]

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Six world powers and Iran appeared to make some progress at a second day of talks in Vienna on Wednesday to hammer out an agenda for reaching an ambitious final settlement to the decade-old standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program. The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany want a long-term agreement on the permissible scope of Iran’s nuclear activities to lay to rest concerns that they could be put to developing atomic bombs. Tehran’s priority is a complete removal of damaging economic sanctions against it. The negotiations will probably extend at least over several months, and could help defuse many years of hostility between energy-exporting Iran and the West, ease the danger of a new war in the Middle East, transform the regional power balance and open up major business opportunities for Western firms. Both sides were relatively upbeat about the first meeting. "The talks […]

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Iran and world powers have agreed to a framework and timetable for negotiations aimed at permanently ending the military threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear program, according to Iranian and Western officials. Iran and the international diplomatic bloc—comprised of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, or P5+1—will meet again in Vienna on March 17 to 20, according to a Western diplomat, and are preparing to have monthly meetings to try and forge a final, comprehensive deal, said these officials. Neither Iranian nor Western officials would map out exactly the terms of the negotiating agreement. They said more details would be announced Friday morning in Vienna during a joint press conference between Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and the coordinator for the P5+1, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. U.S. and Iranian officials had set a low bar for this week’s first round of […]

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Even as Iran negotiates on a nuclear pact in exchange for an end to sanctions, the country’s top leader is taking precautionary steps in case the talks fail. As the nuclear talks entered a second day Wednesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered the government to create an "economy of resistance" to counter the sanctions. The program requires the government to diversify Iran’s exports, reduce dependence on sales of raw materials and promote knowledge-based high-tech industries. A nuclear deal reached in November with six world powers has eased some sanctions but the core remains in place, including measures targeting Iran’s oil exports, the pillar of its economy. Iran and the six countries began talks for a final deal in Vienna on Tuesday. Khamenei says he doubts talks will succeed. —- Associated Press writer Ali Akbar Dareini contributed from Tehran. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. […]

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World powers start talks with Iran on a final agreement on their nuclear dispute on Tuesday. If successful, the negotiations could put to rest a decade of hostility between the West and the Islamic Republic, and head off the danger of a new war in the Middle East ©Reuters Iran’s ambassador to Austria Hassan Tajik arrives at the nuclear talks in Vienna Western diplomats are increasingly sceptical that a comprehensive agreement with Iran over the country’s nuclear programme will be found in time for a key July deadline. Senior diplomatic sources from two of the western delegations meeting Iran’s representatives in Vienna for nuclear talks on Tuesday said they saw little – if any – chance of early success in the talks. Under the terms of the landmark November […]

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The U.S. and Iran voiced caution over the prospect of a deal permanently curbing Tehran’s nuclear program on the eve of international talks. The diplomacy in Vienna, slated to last six months, follows an interim agreement in November between Tehran and global powers that froze parts of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for an easing of Western sanctions. The new round of diplomacy aims to end what the West views as Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. The Obama administration has outlined a negotiating position that calls for Tehran to drastically roll back its nuclear infrastructure to ensure it is solely for peaceful purposes. U.S. officials say this likely would have to include the dismantling or mothballing of thousands of centrifuge machines, which are used to produce nuclear fuel, and the shuttering or conversion of nuclear sites. Senior Iranian officials say they won’t accept any major curtailment of the program. […]

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The United States said on Monday that talks between Iran and six world powers on a long-term deal for Tehran to limit its nuclear program and see international sanctions lifted will be long and complicated with no guarantee of success. The remarks came from a senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity on the eve of the first round of high-level negotiations since an interim deal struck on November 24 under which Tehran curbed some nuclear activities for limited sanctions relief. "These next days this week are the beginning of what will be a complicated, difficult and lengthy process," the administration official told reporters in the Austrian capital. "When the stakes are this high and the devil is truly in the details, one has to take the time to ensure the confidence of the international community in the result," the official said. "That can’t […]

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The world’s largest pool of tanker insurers is advising members they shouldn’t insure Iranian oil shipments, citing the short-time frame of sanction loosening agreed to between Iran and Western powers. The move is a blow to Iran, which had hoped a six-month, temporary easing of sanctions would allow it to restart petrochemical exports and modestly boost its export of crude. It could also complicate efforts by Washington and its allies to provide Tehran’s new political leadership enough incentive to keep up its side of the nuclear pact it reached with the West. Late last year, Tehran agreed to closer scrutiny of its nuclear program in exchange for temporary sanctions relief. As part of the package, which formally went into effect last month, sanctions against Iranian petrochemical shipments were suspended until July. The package also theoretically allowed insurers to cover ships carrying Iranian crude. While that doesn’t affect a cap […]

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Iranian oil exports soared in January, hitting new highs just months after the United States consented to billions of dollars in economic sanctions relief under the interim nuclear deal. Exports of Iranian crude oil jumped to 1.32 million barrels, up from December’s high of 1.06 million barrels, according to data from the International Energy Agency. The spike in exports—mainly to Japan, China, and India—has helped Iran’s once-ailing economy stabilize and decrease inflation. Iranian oil exports have steadily risen since negotiations with the West restored confidence in Tehran’s economy. The increase runs counter to a promise by the Obama administration that “Iran’s oil exports will remain steady at their current level of around 1 million barrels per day.” The significant rise in oil exports has led some experts to accuse the Obama administration of misleading the public about the amount of sanctions relief provided […]

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Imports of Iranian crude rose by 100,000 barrels a day last month, with China , Japan and India taking more oil as a deal easing sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program took effect, the International Energy Agency said. Purchasing countries received 1.32 million barrels a day last month, the IEA, a Paris-based adviser to 28 nations, said in an e-mailed report today. An increase in the number of barrels shipped to the three Asian importers more than made up for reduced deliveries to South Korea, Syria and Taiwan , the agency said. An interim accord easing restrictions on insurance for Iran’s oil shipments and freeing up cash held outside the country in return for a suspension of nuclear work went into effect last month. Under the agreement, six buyers permitted under U.S. sanctions to take Iranian crude don’t have to cut imports to avoid penalties. Iran had an estimated 30 […]

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Total CEO Christophe de Margerie said Thursday the company would be interested in investing in a post-sanctions Iran, but only if the terms of upstream participation were attractive enough. De Margerie, speaking at a briefing in London, also stressed that Total would respect international law with regard to Iran and would not sign any deals with Tehran while the Islamic Republic remained under sanctions. "We will not sign or negotiate anything until the embargo is lifted," he said. But asked whether Total would be interested in returning to Iran if and when international sanctions against Tehran were lifted, de Margerie said: "If the terms are attractive, yes." Iran is currently finalizing a new draft upstream contract model. It hopes to offer international oil companies an early glimpse of the new draft contracts in February in Tehran, months before it introduces the finalized contracts at […]

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TEHRAN — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani marked the anniversary of the founding of the Islamic republic on Tuesday with a mix of defiance and moderation, telling a huge crowd of Iranians that “no single political faction can rule the country, and all political groups must have a share in running the country.” “We want to increase national unity and clear our hearts from some past events,” said Rouhani, who was elected last June after campaigning as a reformer who could heal the country’s internal divisions and ease its international isolation. TOPSHOTS An Afghan internally displaced woman covers her face as she stands in Sakhi camp in Mazar-i-Sharif on February 10, 2014. Many families were forced to flee their homes in southern Afghanistan due to Taliban fighting and are forced to spend the harsh winter season at the camp in poverty. AFP PHOTO/ Farshad UsyanFARSHAD USYAN/AFP/Getty Images At the same […]

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Thirty-five years after the founding of its Islamic republic, Iran is in the midst of a transformative period, with signs that its relations with the United States are warming in a way that was hardly imaginable when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned here from exile in February 1979. On Tuesday, the Islamic state is expected to mark its anniversary, as it does every year, with massive public rallies and speeches from top officials. But the speech by President Hassan Rouhani is likely to carry a starkly different tone from the defiant addresses delivered by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his eight years as president. “Regardless of […]

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The U.N. nuclear watchdog signaled its determination on Monday to get to the bottom of suspicions that Iran may have worked on designing an atomic bomb, a day after Tehran agreed to start addressing the sensitive issue. Chief U.N. nuclear inspector Tero Varjoranta said progress had been good during February 8-9 talks in Tehran but that much work remained in clarifying concerns of possible military links to Iran’s nuclear program, in an investigation which Western diplomats say Tehran has stonewalled for years. "There are still a lot of outstanding issues," Varjoranta, deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said at Vienna airport after returning from the Iranian capital. "We will address them all in due course." Iran denies Western allegations it seeks the capability to make nuclear weapons, saying such claims are baseless and forged by its foes. Years of hostile rhetoric and […]

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The U.N. nuclear watchdog signaled its determination on Monday to get to the bottom of suspicions that Iran may have worked on designing an atomic bomb, a day after Tehran agreed to start addressing the sensitive issue. Chief U.N. nuclear inspector Tero Varjoranta said progress had been good during February 8-9 talks in Tehran but that much work remained in clarifying concerns of possible military links to Iran’s nuclear program, in an investigation which Western diplomats say Tehran has stonewalled for years. "There are still a lot of outstanding issues," Varjoranta, deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said at Vienna airport after returning from the Iranian capital. "We will address them all in due course." Iran denies Western allegations it seeks the capability to make nuclear weapons, saying such claims are baseless and forged by its foes. Years of hostile rhetoric and […]

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Iran , bound by economic sanctions and seeking investment to help develop its oil and natural gas, plans to offer international energy companies more attractive contracts than neighboring Iraq , an Oil Ministry adviser said. The Islamic republic is developing a new type of contract that’s “in line” with international practice and law, Mehdi Hosseini, who leads a ministry committee reviewing oil contracts, said at a news conference in Tehran today. The new model will be more flexible and advanced that those investors encounter in fellow OPEC-member Iraq and will differ from what’s available elsewhere, he said. “Any new model will have to be win-win for all parties involved,” Hosseini said. “The new contract is our own type. We haven’t given it a name.” He reiterated that Iran plans to introduce the new contract at a conference in London in late June or early July. The Persian Gulf state […]

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Iran agreed to seven measures meant to shine increased light on its nuclear activities, including one that addresses Western concerns the work had a military dimension. Under Sunday’s agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran pledged to provide information on work it did on certain types of detonators that could be used to trigger a nuclear device. It also promised to provide updated plans for a heavy-water nuclear reactor and allow inspectors into a uranium mine and yellowcake concentration plant. Agreeing to detail the work on detonators was a first step to addressing Western suspicions that Iran has worked on a military nuclear program. While the actions promised are relatively modest, Western diplomats said they met the bar for the kind of steps Iran needed to take at this stage. However, some sources of the West’s concern remain shielded from U.N. experts, such as granting the IAEA renewed […]

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Iran’s government committed to providing information on detonators for the first time on Sunday as part of a new series of confidence-building measures it agreed to with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog. The measures include additional inspections of known nuclear sites and clarifications on questions the watchdog organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has asked Iran for years, the semiofficial Iranian Students’ News Agency reported. Under the agreement, Iran will provide more access to and information about uranium mines near the city of Yazd, a facility near the city of Ardakan, laser production, and its heavy-water reactor near Arak. The promise of information on detonator research is part of a dossier that has been heavily influencing Western views on Iran’s nuclear program, which Iran says is for energy purposes only, but the United States and other world powers suspect is a cover for producing a nuclear weapons […]

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Iran’s Petroleum Minister says it plans to introduce by June a new generation of oil contracts that are more attractive to investors. Iran’s Petroleum Minister says it plans to introduce by June a new generation of oil contracts that are more attractive to investors. Mahdi Hosseini, head of the contract revision committee in the ministry, told reporters Sunday that sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear activities drove the revisions. He said the new contracts are designed for the "post-sanction era, " but did not provide details. So far Iran has allowed oil companies to work on its fields under contracts known as "buybacks." Hosseini said many companies complained about their costs under this scheme. Iran signed in November a six-month interim deal with world powers in which it stops some nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief. It begins negotiations this month to reach a final deal. The […]

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Iran’s Petroleum Minister says it plans to introduce by June a new generation of oil contracts that are more attractive to investors. Iran’s Petroleum Minister says it plans to introduce by June a new generation of oil contracts that are more attractive to investors. Mahdi Hosseini, head of the contract revision committee in the ministry, told reporters Sunday that sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear activities drove the revisions. He said the new contracts are designed for the "post-sanction era, " but did not provide details. So far Iran has allowed oil companies to work on its fields under contracts known as "buybacks." Hosseini said many companies complained about their costs under this scheme. Iran signed in November a six-month interim deal with world powers in which it stops some nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief. It begins negotiations this month to reach a final deal. The […]

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