US hopes for nuclear talks with Iran, other powers

AFP: The United States said Wednesday it hoped for high-level talks soon with Iran and five other world powers that like Washington are seeking to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States said Wednesday it hoped for high-level talks soon with Iran and five other world powers that like Washington are seeking to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said “we hope to have the same kind of meeting in the coming weeks that we had last October,” in which Iran was urged to accept a nuclear fuel swap as a confidence building measure.

Crowley did not give any specific reason why he was optimistic about such a meeting that would bring together senior officials from Iran, the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany.

However, he said the United States had received a copy of a letter from Iran given in the last few days to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, and said US officials were reviewing it.

The watchdog said Monday that Iran has responded to queries raised by the Vienna group of diplomatic powers over a nuclear fuel swap deal proposed by Brazil, Turkey and Tehran.

The deal was purportedly based on the IAEA-backed deal offered last October in Geneva, but Washington rejected it.