Iran Focus: Brussels, Sep. 3 – As he arrived in the Netherlands to attend a meeting of the ‘EU three’ today, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the EU was concerned over Iran ignoring its nuclear obligations. “We have all been perplexed and saddened that the Iranian government has not completed all the tasks it said it would,” Straw noted.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Sep. 4 – In his Friday prayer sermon in Tehran yesterday, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani said Iran would vigorously continue its pursuit for nuclear capabilities. He insisted that Tehran would never abandon its quest regardless of what the international community might think.

Iran Focus: Iran will be sending its chief national security official, Hassan Rowhani to The Hague on Monday. The Netherlands is  the current holder of the rotating EU Presidency.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters in Tehran today: “At present we are conducting very sensitive discussions with the Europeans.” He added that Rowhani will conduct a series of talks with Dutch officials.

AFP: Disappointed European leaders seem to be torn between pursuing efforts to engage Iran and calls for a harder line over Tehran’s nuclear aims, to bring them closer to the US stance.
European Union (EU) foreign ministers, gathered for back-to-work talks in the Netherlands this weekend, did little to disguise their deep concern over Iran, which Washington wants hauled before the UN Security Council.