Diplomats hail new Iran attitude in nuclear talks

UNITED NATIONS -- U.S. and European diplomats welcomed a "significant shift" in Iran's attitude at talks Thursday aimed at resolving the impasse over Tehran's disputed nuclear activities. Iran said it was eager to dispel the notion that it is trying to develop a nuclear weapon and to get international sanctions lifted as fast as possible.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shook hands and sat next to each other at the meeting with five other world powers. Kerry leaned over to Zarif as the meeting was ending and said: "Shall we talk for a few minutes?" They then had an unexpected one-on-one meeting.

It was the highest-level direct contact between the United States and Iran in six years.

Zarif said the meeting with the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany agreed to fast-track negotiations. He said Iran hopes they can reach a deal within a year.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton also said the parties had agreed to "go forward with an ambitious time frame."

They also agreed to hold a new round of substantive talks Oct. 15 and 16 in Geneva.

"We agreed to jump-start the process so that we could move forward with a view to agreeing first on the parameters of the end game ... and move toward finalizing it hopefully within a year's time," Zarif said after the talks ended. "I thought I was too ambitious, bordering on naiveté. But I saw that some of my colleagues were even more ambitious and wanted to do it faster."

Kerry said he was struck by the "very different tone" from Iran. But, like his European colleagues, he stressed that a single meeting was not enough to assuage international concerns that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian atomic energy program.

"Needless to say, one meeting and a change in tone, that was welcome, does not answer those questions," Kerry said. "All of us were pleased that the foreign minister came today and that he did put some possibilities on the table."

He said they agree to continue the process and try to find concrete ways to answer the questions that people have about Iran's nuclear activities.

A senior U.S. official said that in the one-on-one meeting, aides from both sides chatted in a marked departure from past encounters, when the Iranians were tight-lipped. It was one of the signs of a new attitude, though what it means remains to be seen, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

The official also said Zarif presented a number of ideas -- many that had come up before -- but they were not particularly detailed. The Americans asked Zarif to come back at the Geneva round or earlier with some more detailed proposals.

At a separate forum across the city, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said this government is ready to work with the world powers and others "with a view to ensuring full transparency under international law surrounding our nuclear program."

"My government is prepared to leave no stone unturned in seeking for a mutually acceptable solution," Rouhani said.

Zarif said the end result would have to include "a total lifting" of the international sanctions that have devastated Iran's economy.

"We hope ... to make sure [there is] no concern that Iran's program is anything but peaceful," he said. "Now we have to see whether we can match our positive words with serious deeds so we can move forward."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said there had been a "big improvement in the tone and spirit" from Iran compared with the previous government under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the meeting had taken place in a "completely different tone, atmosphere and spirit" than what the group was used to and that a "window of opportunity has opened" for a peaceful resolution of the situation. He too insisted that Iran's words would have to be matched by actions.

"Words are not enough," he said. "Actions and tangible results are what counts. The devil is in the detail, so it is now important that we have substantial and serious negotiations very soon."

Rouhani and Zarif, both in New York this week to attend the U.N. General Assembly, have said they are anxious to clinch an agreement quickly that could bring relief from sanctions that have slashed the country's vital oil exports, restricted its international bank transfers, devalued the currency and sent inflation surging.

Encouraged by signs that Rouhani will adopt a more moderate stance than Ahmadinejad, but skeptical that the country's all-powerful supreme leader will allow a change in course, President Barack Obama has directed Kerry to lead a new outreach and explore possibilities for resolving the long-standing dispute.

Rouhani has come across as a more moderate face of the hard-line clerical regime in Tehran and his pronouncements at the U.N. have raised guarded hopes that progress might be possible. But they have also served as a reminder that the path to that progress will not be quick or easy.

He has steadfastly maintained that any nuclear agreement must recognize Iran's right under international treaties to continue enriching uranium.

The U.S. and its allies have long demanded a halt to enrichment, fearing Tehran could secretly build nuclear warheads. They have imposed sanctions over Iran's refusal to halt enrichment. Uranium enriched to low levels can be used as fuel for nuclear energy but at higher levels, it can be used to make a nuclear weapon.

Rouhani also insisted that any deal be contingent on all other nations declaring their nuclear programs, too, are solely for peaceful purposes -- alluding to the U.S. and Israel.

Those conditions underscored that there is still a large chasm to be bridged in negotiations.

Rouhani has made a series of appearances and speeches since arriving in New York and has held bilateral negotiations with France, Turkey and Japan among others.

On Thursday, he called for worldwide disarmament of nuclear weapons as "our highest priority."

Speaking at the first-ever meeting of a U.N. forum on nuclear disarmament on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, an organization of mostly developing countries, Rouhani repeated the organization's long-standing demand that Israel join the international treaty banning the spread of nuclear weapons.

Israel, which has repeatedly accused Iran of aspiring to build a nuclear bomb, is the only Mideast state that has not signed the landmark 1979 Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Rouhani appears to be trying to tone down Ahmadinejad's caustic rhetoric against Israel -- a point of friction in relations with the U.S. But Israel is not biting and reacted angrily to his latest remarks.

"Iran's new president is playing an old and familiar game by trying to deflect attention from Iran's nuclear weapons program," said Intelligence and International Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz. "The problem of the NPT in the Middle East is not with those countries which have not signed the NPT, but countries like Iran, Iraq, Libya and Syria which have signed the treaty and brazenly violated it," he added.

"Unlike Iran, Israel has never threatened the destruction of another country," he said.

Iran watchers say Rouhani may have limited time to reach a settlement -- possibly a year or less -- before Khamenei decides negotiations are fruitless.