Iran-Russia nuclear talks end without deal

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Tuesday, 21 February: 12.45 CET) – Iranian nuclear negotiators were set to leave Moscow on Tuesday after failing to reach agreement with Russian officials over a proposal for the export of uranium enrichment for the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.

Leaving the talks, the head of the Iranian negotiating team said that the sides had agreed on underlying principles that could lead to a deal.

However, there were no further indications that Iran was willing to drop its long-standing refusal to give up on autonomous uranium enrichment.

A senior Iranian official said that "Another round of the talks will take place in Tehran in the coming days."

The Russian offer, to conduct uranium enrichment for Iran's civilian nuclear program on Russia soil, is designed to allay fears that the Islamic Republic will attain mastery over the full nuclear fuel cycle, and with it the potential to develop a nuclear weapons capacity.

Some observers believe that Iran is using the ongoing talks as a means to avoid the imposition of a punitive regime following the recent referral of the Iranian nuclear dossier to the UN Security Council. The International Atomic Agency (IAEA) board, decided that no action would be taken on the referral until after its next meeting on 6 March.