(Geneva) – World powers and Iran hold a second day of talks aimed at ending the decade-long standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme, after the Islamic republic put what it billed as a breakthrough proposal on the table. Top officials backed by experts on nuclear affairs and sanctions were combing through the details of Iran’s proposal which it said allowed for snap inspections of its atomic sites.
Iran’s negotiations in Geneva are going on with European Union-chaired P5+1 group i.e. the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia, plus Germany. All sides underscore the changed tone in the talks, which come two months after Iranian President Hassan Rohani, seen as a relative moderate, succeeded Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The meeting ended a six-month freeze in negotiations after Iran’s refusal to curb uranium enrichment in exchange for easing the international sanctions battering its economy. Rohani has pledged transparency on the nuclear programme and engagement with the international community to try to get the sanctions lifted — though Israel has warned against being taken by his “sweet talk”.