Guarded Hopes for Deal at Iran Nuclear Talks

Negotiators from Iran and six world powers met Thursday to broker a deal that could see Tehran freeze its disputed nuclear program in exchange for some relief from sanctions.

Officials have said that a long-awaited agreement on curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions may be finally within reach, after years of fruitless talks were given fresh momentum by the election of Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani, seen as a relative moderate.

In their second meeting in Geneva in less than a month, negotiators from the United States and five other global powers sat down with Iranian officials for two days of talks aimed at hammering out the "first step" of an agreement.

Iran's lead negotiator in Geneva, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, suggested that a major hurdle had already been crossed.

"The other side accepted Iran's proposed framework, the first step, the last step and the steps in between, and now we have to discuss the details of these steps," Araqchi said in comments shown on Iranian state television.

But in a sign of potential troubles ahead, Israel slammed the possible deal, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying it would be "a mistake of historic proportions".

Chaired by Catherine Ashton -- the EU diplomatic chief who heads the so-called P5+1 group of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany -- the initial talks in Geneva ended after 45 minutes but were set to resume later.

"The talks are extremely complex and are now getting into a serious phase," Ashton's spokesman Michael Mann told journalists, adding: "It was a good opening session."

In a possible indication the talks were making progress, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who opened the negotiations with Ashton, canceled a trip to Rome.

Araqchi said Zarif would be staying in Geneva because talks "have entered a complicated, difficult and intensive" phase.

He said Iranian officials would be meeting separately with European, Russian, Chinese and U.S. officials Thursday before full talks resume in the early evening.

Both sides have said recent talks have been the most productive in years but admit that reaching a deal will not be easy.

Zarif nonetheless sounded an optimistic note earlier this week, saying he believed it would be "possible" to reach an agreement.

The meeting is the second since Rouhani took office in August pledging to resolve the nuclear dispute and lift sanctions by engaging with world powers.

Iran is anxious for relief from crippling economic sanctions that have cut oil revenues in half, caused the value of the rial to plunge and pushed inflation above 40 percent.

The West is also keen to seize a rare opportunity to build bridges with Iran after decades of hostility, opening the door to engaging with Tehran on other issues like the conflict in Syria, where Iran has backed President Bashar Assad against the anti-regime insurgents.

Last month's talks in Geneva -- held in English for the first time -- saw Iran reportedly outline a two-stage process that would resolve the dispute within a year.

Speaking to journalists in Geneva on the eve of this week's talks, a senior U.S. official said Washington is willing to offer Iran limited sanctions relief if it agrees to take a "first step" to stop advancing its nuclear program.

"What we're looking for now is a first phase, a first step, an initial understanding that stops Iran's nuclear program from moving forward... and that potentially rolls some of it back," said the official.

"We are prepared to offer limited, targeted and reversible sanctions relief," the official said.

U.S. officials have indicated that relief could include unfreezing some Iranian assets outside the country, but that the "core architecture" of sanctions will remain in place.

The P5+1 group has held years of talks with Tehran on its uranium enrichment, which Western powers suspect may be aimed at developing nuclear weapons.

Iran has repeatedly denied this, insisting its nuclear program is only for generating electricity and for medical purposes.

The six powers have been pushing Iran to freeze its enrichment efforts, reduce stockpiles and lower its capacity to produce nuclear material.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said this week's talks included discussions of at what level Iran would be allowed to continue enriching uranium.

"Iran may well have the right to use nuclear power, but an atomic bomb, no way," he told I-Tele television.

"There are a few fairly technical questions -- will they have the right to enrich, at what level, 20 percent, 3.5 percent... we are discussing these things," he said.

Iran's enrichment of uranium to 20 percent has been a particular source of concern as it is seen as a key step on the way to the 90 percent level required for a nuclear weapon.