Iran Says ‘Ready for Unconditional Nuclear Talks’

Aresu Eqbali (Agence France-Presse)

August 18, 2009

A top Iranian nuclear official said Tehran was ready to hold talks with the West on its atomic drive “without preconditions,” state television reported on Tuesday, amid U.S. threats of more sanctions.

“Negotiations without preconditions is Iran’s main stance on the nuclear issue,” Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, was quoted as saying.

Access the full story >>

In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

12/02/11: Discussion With Tunisia’s Rachid Ghannouchi —
12/02/11: Debating Military Action Against Iran —
12/02/11: Terms Of Disengagement —

Setting the Record Straight

Determined to Reach a Common Objective

“We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

Middle East Analysis

Don’t Panic. Yet —Issandr El Amrani (The Arabist)
The Islamists vs. The Markets: Egypt’s Election Analyzed —Haroon Moghul (Religion Dispatches)
What the Libya Intervention Achieved —Marc Lynch (Foreign Policy)

Upcoming Events

The U.S. Agency for International Development and Conflict: Hard Lessons from the Field

May 17, 2011, 12:00pm – 1:15pm

From Afghanistan and Iraq to Pakistan, Somalia, and South Sudan, the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is engaged daily in trying to help some of the most troubled nations on the planet make a lasting transition to stability, open markets, and democracy. Few areas of the agency’s work are more challenging or more controversial.

Join us for remarks by, and a roundtable with, the deputy administrator of USAID, Ambassador

SEARCH: