Vienna talks on Iranian nuclear program stalling

In Vienna, talks between the United States, Russia, France and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear program dragged on for a second day on Tuesday, with Iran insisting on its nuclear rights and refusing to talk with France at the negotiating table. "It is maybe slower than I expected, but we are moving forward," Mohammed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told reporters.

Iran insisted on its right to continue enriching uranium, apparently backpedalling on a pledge made during the talks with the group of six nations in Geneva earlier this month, when Iran agreed in principle to ship most of its existing low-grade uranium to Russia and France, where it would be processed and then sent back to Iran to be used in a research reactor for the manufacture of medical radioisotopes.

An IAEA survey found Iran had been able to produce enriched uranium with a purity of about 5 percent.    However, just before the Vienna meeting, Iranian spokesman Ali Shirzadian said Iran's agreement "to buy nuclear fuel from abroad does not mean that Iran would halt its uranium enrichment activities." He added that Iran would start enriching its uranium up to the 20 percent level if talks in Vienna failed to provide Iran with the "desired results."

In addition, Iran said it did not want France to be part of any deal. The reason cited was France's failure to "abide by its own obligations in the past" regarding its nuclear cooperation with Iran, according to Iranian media. Analysts pointed out that an important reason for Iran's refusal to cooperate with France was that it had always focused on discussions with nuclear superpowers like the United States and Russia.