Updated on
Summary
Six world powers will attempt to persuade Iran to rein in its nuclear programme as talks take place in Turkey, but there is little expectation of tangible results beyond an agreement on a framework for further negotiations. A cyber-attack that targeted Iranian nuclear centrifuges producing enriched uranium in November did not affect the country's nuclear programme, Iranian ambassador Ali Asghar said in Moscow on Thursday.The viruses could not do anything to the Iranian centrifuges and did not affect the functioning of the Bushehr nuclear power plant either, Ali Asghar told. Iran's nuclear standoff with the West has escalated in the past year, with the United Nations imposing new sanctions and Western states rejecting a revised proposal for Iran to swap some of its fuel abroad as too little, too late. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton heads the delegations representing six big powers, Britain, China, France,Germany, Russia and the United States. They will meet with Iran's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. The West says Iran has failed to comply with UN resolutions demanding it curb enrichment and grant unfettered access to its nuclear sites. The prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapon feeds fears of a Middle East conflict should the United States or Israel opt to attack it.
