Infighting at the Iran Nuclear Talks

The Baghdad meeting got off to a tense start last week after Iran gave a chilly reception to a proposal for curbing its 20 percent uranium enrichment. But the talks nearly broke down, European diplomats told Al-Monitor, when there was a key impasse within the six-nation negotiating team, not between the group and Iran, writes Laura Rozen. 
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili attend a meeting in Istanbul April 14, 2012. Iran and world powers discussed Tehran's controversial nuclear programme for the first time in over a year on Saturday and, in what Western diplomats called a constructive development given their low expectations, agreed to meet again next month. Ashton, who has headed negotiations for the six international powers including the U.S. and Russia, told a news conference aft
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili attend a meeting in Istanbul April 14, 2012. - REUTERS/Pool
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Laura Rozen
@@LRozen

Baghdad — Recently resumed Iran nuclear talks almost collapsed in Baghdad, just a couple hours before the chief international negotiator announced that the parties had agreed to hold a third meeting in Moscow next month, Western diplomats told Al-Monitor Friday.

The first Iran nuclear talks in over a year, held in Istanbul last month, were roundly praised by all parties as constructive and held in a positive atmosphere.

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