Tehran, October 01: World powers racked up the pressure on Iran ahead of crucial nuclear talks on Thursday in Geneva, amid growing concern about the covert build up of Tehran’s nuclear programme.
European Union foreign affairs chief Javier Solana will conduct the talks with the top Iranian nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in the Swiss city of Geneva, along with senior officials from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
Solana stressed ahead of the meeting, the first of its kind for 14 months, that the five permanent powers (P5) in the UN Security Council and Germany needed guarantees from Tehran that its nuclear programme was “only peaceful.”
He called the talks a “test” of Iran’s intentions, as the powers maintained demands for a suspension in Iran’s nuclear enrichment in return for a hold on sanctions.
“I say to Iran as they face a crucial date this week; join the international community now or face isolation,” British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.
Jalili said he was heading for the talks with a “positive approach.” “I hope this is an opportunity for others also,” he told reporters before leaving Tehran airport.
Atomic energy chief Ali Akbar Salehi has said Iran is ready to discuss concerns about its previously undisclosed second enrichment plant.
—Agencies