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Iran Nuclear Watch: Back Channel American Nuclear Negotiations with Iran?

williamburnsandsaeedjalili

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns and Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili

In an apparent major shift in United States foreign policy, William Burns, Undersecretary of State and the United States State Department’s number three official will meet with top Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili this weekend in Geneva at talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

President Bush has authorized the most significant American diplomatic contact with Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, sending the State Department’s third-ranking official to Geneva for a meeting this weekend on Iran’s nuclear program, administration officials said Tuesday.

The decision appeared to bend, if not exactly break, the administration’s insistence that it would not negotiate with Iran over its nuclear programs unless it first suspended uranium enrichment, as demanded by three resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

Still, after months of accusations and counteraccusations from the United States and Iran, the meeting raised the prospect of an intensified diplomatic push to resolve concerns over Iranian nuclear activity, not unlike the lengthy and painstaking talks that resulted in a deal last month with North Korea.

William J. Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs, will attend a meeting on Saturday with the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and Iran’s nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, a senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement on Wednesday.

The Bush Administration has NOT been successful in restraining Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Is this a last minute gambit in order to give cover to Israel, pending a military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities?

Should Israel attack Iran, the United States will be blamed anyway and suffer the consequences of another war and disruption of oil importation. So, could it be said then to the world community, “Hey America tried
to negotiate with Iran but they refused?”

Or is this a change in the long-standing policy that the United States will NOT negotiate with Iran until they completely suspend uranium enrichment?

A change in this policy would be foolish in that Iran would continue to spin their centrifuges at Natanz, enrich enough uranium to produce a nuclear bomb and reach “BREAKOUT CAPABILITY” while negotiations drag on for another few months/years.

But, this is an interesting development.

Previous:

Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Will NOT Stop Uranium Enrichment

Iran Nuclear Watch: A Deal to Halt Uranium Enrichment?

Iran Nuclear Watch: The Two Red Lines; Update: Israel is Bluffing?

Iran Nuclear Watch: One Year to Stop Iranian NUKE


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