US and Iran deny holding secret direct nuclear talks

Monday 22 October 2012

Iran and the United States have both denied scheduling direct bilateral negotiations on Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

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A US newspaper had claimed secret exchanges between US and Iranian officials had yielded agreement in principle to hold one-on-one talks, quoting unnamed US administration officials.

"We don't have any discussions or negotiations with America," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told a news conference. "The [nuclear] talks are ongoing with the P5+1 group of nations. Other than that, we have no discussions with the United States."

The P5+1 group comprises the permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, Britain, China, France and Russia – plus Germany.The US has been working with the P5+1 to pressure Iran on its nuclear programme, but with few results. The US alleges the programme is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, but Tehran says it is purely peaceful.The White House also denied the newspaper report, which came two days before President Barack Obama faces Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in a televised foreign policy debate.A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is coordinating the efforts of the P5+1, said "we hope that we will pick up discussions soon, but there is no date at the moment".The P5+1 has held a series of inconclusive meetings with Iranian officials in the past year. While Western officials say there is still time to negotiate, they also have been ratcheting up sanctions, which are contributing to mounting economic problems in Iran.The White House said it was prepared to talk with Iran to find a settlement to the impasse over Tehran's reported pursuit of nuclear weapons, but there is no current agreement to meet.National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said President Barack Obama has made clear he would prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and do whatever was necessary to prevent that from happening.

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US and Iran deny holding secret direct nuclear talks

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