Critical stage reached for US and Iran in nuclear talks

World Today

Neutral ground, where negotiators will attempt to put aside differences regarding Iran’s nuclear program and come together to reach a deal. CCTV’s Dan Whitehead filed this report from Switzerland.

Highlights: 

  • Whether the feeling is mutual is unknown, but negotiations are reaching a critical stage. Analysts say both Iran and the US want a solution soon.
  • For Iran, the lifting of sanctions is key, which cost the Iranian economy billions of dollars.
  • U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the differences remaining are political. On the Iranian side, any political concessions would play well to a domestic audience.

Critical state reached between US and Iran in nuclear talks

As Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif touched down in Brussels, the EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini described talks on Tehran’s nuclear program as entering a crucial phase.

Highlights:

  •  The talks involving Zarif and Mogherini came on the sidelines of an EU foreign affairs meeting.
  •  Officials said the remaining stumbling blocks largely revolved around political issues like lifting sanctions and access for inspectors.
  • An agreement, that has slowly taken shape over the past 15 months, could see Iran freeze large parts of its nuclear program for a decade in exchange for a gradual end to international sanctions.
  • This week Zarif is also holding several days of talks with U-S Secretary of State John Kerry in Switzerland.
  • While the Iran talks were widely discussed on Monday, EU ministers also announced the bloc had deployed a new military assistance mission to the Central African Republic.
  • Some officials said if that happened the E-U would consider sending peacekeepers while a few hinted at a military option if the crisis in Libya worsens.
  • Libya has become a multi-issue concern for Europe as the United Nations estimates 90 percent of African migrants and refugees reaching Italy are now transiting through the lawless nation

Details on Israels nuclear program still ambigious

Israel’s Prime Minister recently warned the US Congress he is convinced Iran is on the path to building a nuclear weapon. But the international community has long known there is another state in the region that has a nuclear weapons program- that is Israel itself.

CCTV’s Nathan King filed this report.

Highlights:

  • Whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, a former Israeli nuclear technician, revealed details to the British Press in 1986. He was captured in Rome by Israeli intelligence returned to Israel, tried and jailed.
  • Vanunu revealed the existence of the Dimona nuclear plant deep in the Negev desert, constructed with the help of new nuclear power France in the 1950’s and completed in the 1960’s, just as Israel fought its Arab neighbors in the six day war.
  • Many experts believe Israel has the capability to launch nuclear weapons from land, air and sea and has around 80 warheads. As for its nuclear weapons strategy- Israel says only that it will not be the first to introduce them into the Middle East.
  • Israel’s strategic silence means while Israel warns of an Iranian bomb, western allies never mention Israel’s arsenal.
  • Iran and others have called that a double standard.

Reza Marashi on the nuclear discussions

For more on the nuclear discussions, CCTV spoke with Reza Marashi. He’s a Research Director at the National Iranian American Council.