0550 GMT: After days of manoeuvring by all sides on the nuclear issue, we are now in the lull before the opening of talks in Istanbul on Saturday. The vacuum in developments is filled by ruminations by analysts and commentators on what both Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China) should do, while officials put out general warnings and assurances.
So on Wednesday we had President Ahmadinejad --- needing to defend his position against domestic challengers, rather than the US --- wagging his finger at the attempted "bullying" of the West. Meanwhile, Saeed Jalili, Iran's lead negotiator, spoke of Tehran's presentation of "new initiatives" in the talks but somehow failing to give a single detail of the content of those initiatives.
Jalili's vague declaration was still enough to grab this morning's headlines in Iranian newspapers as well as a feature by Reuters which --- after Iranian authorities closed its bureau in Tehran --- is now relying on a correspondent in Dubai.
Iran also struck another pose on Wednesday. As Minister of Oil Rustam Qassemi pronounced that sanctions on Tehran were failing --- somehow proving this with the statement that the petrochemical industry will be privatised --- State media blared, "Oil Prices Rise Again as Iran Cuts Crude Exports to Germany".
The story is style rather than substance: with the European Union's suspension of Iranian oil imports coming into effect from 1 July, its members have already cut back on crude from Tehran and pursued alternative supplies, as the global market "prices in" the shift.
Posted via email from lissping
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