Iran Under Pressure Ahead of Nuclear Talks

Iran and world powers will meet on Feb. 26 to discuss the country's nuclear ambitions,according to Reuters . The meeting in Kazakhstan comes as Western powers suggest Iran has nearly reached the capability of building a nuclear weapon.

Here's the newest information on the nuclear talks and other news in Iran.

Diplomats put pressure on Iran to act

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said there hadn't been much progress since June, when the last round of top-level negotiations took place, but said that it was necessary for both sides to seek middle ground in finding a solution.

"Despite everything, I would very much hope to see the upcoming round result in -- if not an outright breakthrough -- then serious progress," Rybakov said, according to the AFP.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague welcomed news that talks would resume according to a statement on the British government website, saying that "We will approach the talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with an updated and credible offer for Iran. The onus is on Iran to respond seriously and turn its declared willingness to negotiate into concrete action."

Iran leadership divided on talks

A representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneio Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threw cold water on the talks, indicating Tehran remained divided in its own approach to the talks.

Abdollah Haj-Sadeghi told religious students in Qom that the West wasn't interested in real dialogue. "Their goal is to inhibit the Islamic revolution. If they can't eliminate the Islamic revolution, they want to weaken and inhibit this revolution," according to Reuters.

Presidential ally and prosecutor freed

Tehran's former prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi was arrested on Monday in connection with his alleged role in torturing and killing prisoners, the Associated Press reported , including Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi. He was then released Tuesday in what is viewed as part of an escalating fight between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and rivals in parliament.

Mortazvi is a close ally of Ahmadinejad, who faces presidential elections in June.

Journalists suffer crackdown

The Committee to Protect Journalists created a short video drawing attention to a widespread journalism crackdown in Iran during late January. The group said the country arrested 16 Iranian journalists between Jan. 26 and 28, and said the country holds a revolving-door policy on imprisoning reporters, forcing many to flee into exile in recent years.

Shawn Humphrey is a former contributor to The Flint Journal and an amateur Africanist, focusing his personal studies on human rights and political issues on the contine nt.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-under-pressure-ahead-nuclear-talks-201100095.html

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