Iran objects to Western proposal to curb nuclear program

MOSCOW — Iran on Monday offered up a blistering critique of a proposal by six world powers to rein in its nuclear program, marking the latest setback in efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

In its first detailed analysis of the proposal, Iran’s chief negotiator, Saeed Jalili, ticked off a list of objections in a five-hour negotiating session at a Moscow hotel and expounded at length about Tehran’s grievances with the West dating back to at least 1968.

The meeting, the third this year between Tehran and the six powers, “was intense, it was tough,” said Michael Mann, a spokesman for the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. He said the Iranians was finally addressing the proposal directly but “it was not discussed in quite the way we had hoped at this stage.”

He said both sides would “reflect” overnight and meet Tuesday to consider their next step and whether it still made sense to schedule another round of talks.

Diplomats for the six powers — Britain, France, Russia, China, Germany and the United States — cautioned that the Iranians’ objections may not be as much of a blow to the talks as they appear, noting Iran sometimes turns conciliatory after behaving belligerently.

“They have reason to want these talks to continue too,” said one senior Western diplomat who requested anonymity, which is common during such negotiations.

Nevertheless, the Iranian critique, rolled out in a Power Point presentation, extended a losing streak for the negotiations. Last month in Baghdad, the Iranians dashed hopes for early progress in the talks by complaining bitterly in a session about their treatment on the nuclear issue and cataloging grievances unrelated to the topic.

Even a temporary halt in the talks could upset nervous oil markets and stir renewed talk about a possible air attack by Israel to end the threat it sees from the Iranian nuclear program.