Iran seeking to hold nuclear talks with West in Iraq
A mural painting west of the Iranian capital Tehran depicts “martyrs” who were killed during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
Iran has reportedly proposed holding the next round of talks with Western powers on its Tehran's disputed nuclear program in Iraq instead of Turkey, Iraq's Foreign Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Tehran Times cited the Persian service of the Young Journalists Club’s website as reporting Tuesday that Baghdad had agreed to host the talks between Iran and the 5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany) scheduled for Apr. 13-14.
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According to Reuters, Iraq said an Iranian delegation visited Baghdad on April 3 to discuss the request.
However, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had said the talks — the first since the two sides attempted talks in January 2011 but failed to agree even on an agenda — would be held in Istanbul.
Meanwhile, Clinton — who traveled over the weekend to Turkey and Saudi Arabia — has warned that a nuclear-armed Iran or conflict over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program would destabilize the region, possibly sparking an arms race.
"There is no clear path. We know that a nuclear-armed Iran would be incredibly destabilizing to the region and beyond. A conflict arising out of their program would also be very destabilizing," Agence France-Presse quoted her as telling a dinner in Norfolk, Virginia, where she was on a day trip to visit the only NATO command in the United States.
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"We're going to be looking for a way to try to convey the legitimate fears that people in the region have about what comes next," she said, seeking to put pressure on Tehran ahead of the talks.
"Because if Iran were ever to get a nuclear weapon, the countries in the region are going to buy their way to one as well."
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