Iran Nuclear Talks Stall on Western Centrifuge Demands

The continually shifting list of Western demands on Iran’s nuclear program have finally hit on another roadblock in the talks, with negotiators saying the talks are effectively stalled on the question of limiting Iran’s centrifuges further.

Iran had initially sought the right to grow its enrichment program, so long as it remained at 3.5 percent, to provide fuel for the Bushehr Power Plant. Western officials opposed it, and they seemed to move beyond that matter.

But the demands shifted again, and now not only is the West opposed to any organic growth in Iran’s civilian enrichment capabilities, it is now demanding broad new restrictions on the existing program, an the elimination of many currently running centrifuges.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly set the matter as a “red line” for Iran’s negotiators, and the negotiators have said the latest demands are a “joke” that would never be acceptable at any rate.