CORRECTION: Contrary to earlier reports in the Iranian media, the nuclear talks did not move to New York on Friday. Instead, they continued in Vienna, with Iranian negotiators meeting counterparts from all of the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia) except the Americans.

The lead Iranian negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, said drafting of the final text of a comprehensive agreement had begun. He cited progress on issues such as the removal or suspension of sanctions on Tehran.

See Iran Daily, April 25: “We Have Started Drafting Final Text for Nuclear Agreement”


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Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, China, Russia, France, and Britain) resume nuclear talks in New York on Friday, seeking to work out the details for a comprehensive agreement by a June 30 deadline.

The discussions have been preceded by two days of discussions between Iranian negotiators and the European Union’s deputy foreign policy chief, Helga Schmid, in Vienna. The Iranian team also met the lead US negotiator, Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is attending a UN conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, will be involved in today’s negotiations.

The meeting is the first since a framework for an agreement was announced on April 2. Since then, Iran and the US have fenced over provisions in the framework, notably the timing of the removal or suspension of US, European Union, and UN sanctions on Tehran.

However, Iranian State media this morning put out a different angle on the talks. Looking for the delivery of Russian advanced S-300 missile systems, Press TV headlines, “Russia to Seek Removal of Arms Embargo against Iran in Nuclear Talks”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin suddenly announced on April 13 that Moscow would deliver the S-300 systems, lifting a suspension since the contract was signed in 2010. However, on Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said it was unlikely that the missiles will be delivered this year, countering Iranian expectations.

Press TV does not mention Ryabkov’s step back from the provision of the S-300s. However, Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan repeated that “Iran is ready to receive the S-300 system, hoping that it will occur this year”.


Former President Rafsanjani on State TV for 1st Time Since 2009 Protests

State broadcaster IRIB has shown former President Rafsanjani for the first time since his controversial Tehran Friday Prayer address in July 2009, amid mass protests over the disputed Presidential election.

Rafsanjani was ostracized by much of the Iranian establishment after the speech, in which he supported the right to protest, and was never again allowed to deliver a Friday Prayer. However, he remained head of the Expediency Council, and has had a political recovery as the mentor of current President Hassan Rouhani.

Rafsanjani’s brother Mohammad, a member of the Expediency Council, reacted with caution, “The Voice and Vision [IRIB] broadcast his speech under duress….It’s too soon to see if their policy has changed.”

However, leading political analyst Sadegh Zibakalam assessed, “It’s a good sign….The Voice and Vision had to respect the public opinion.”


Khomeini Grandson: Hardline Group Threatened Me — “You Will Be Forced Out If You Try to Give Speeches”

Seyed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the Islamic Republic’s leader Ayatollah Khomeini, said on Thursday that he had been warned by the hardline group Ansar-e Hezbollah not to make speeches in Golestan Province in northeast Iran.

Khomeini said that he had not scheduled a trip to Golestan, but he and Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, an advisor to the Supreme Leader and former Presidential candidate, were given the warning.

Khomeini maintained that he would not cancel plans over threat, “The people will eventually put such sparse extremist groups in their place.”

Prominent MP Ali Motahari was assaulted in March as he tried to speak at Shiraz University.

Khomeini said, “The Ministry of the Interior’s weakness in dealing with the incident in Shiraz has given some groups the audacity to make such statements.”


Official Inflation Rate Down to 14.5%

Iran’s official annual rate of inflation is down to 14.5%.

The Statistical Center of Iran said on Thursday that the rate to March 20 has more than halved, compared to 30.2% in 2013-14.

Prices were rising more than 40% when President Ahmadinejad left office in August 2013. His successor, Hassan Rouhani, pledged to bring the rate to less than 15%, and his officials have spoken of a goal of single-digit inflation.

The Governor of the Central Bank, Valiollah Seif, repeated that objective on Thursday, “This may not be achieved next year but we are pretty confident that we will be able to bring it down to single digits in two years.”

Last week, Iranian banks started to cut their borrowing and lending rates to 20% from 22% after weeks of pressure.


Speaker of Parliament Larijani in Damascus — “Syria is the Key to the Resistance”

Iran’s Secretary of the National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, and Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani visited Syria on Wednesday, as the Assad regime faces increasing economic and military pressure.

The two high-level officials met Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mikdad.

No details were given of the talks. Larijani declared, “Countries which have friendly relations with Syria should help restore stability and tranquility to the country.”

The Speaker said Muslim countries should not undermine the security and capacity of the Islamic world, urging them to refrain from being puppets of the “Zionist regime” of Israel.

Meanwhile, Fars News, the outlet of the Revolutionary Guards, has converted a major offensive by rebels in northwest Syria into glorious victory for President Assad’s military: “A military source in…Idlib [Province] said that the Syrian Army, in a series of fresh operations, killed, injured and arrested scores of foreign-baked militants.”

See Syria Daily: Rebels Advance in Idlib-Hama Offensive