U.S. made major concessions to Iran at Almaty talks

    In a report published on March 9, the Israeli website DEBKAfile says that the United States has made three major concessions to Iran in the latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers in Kazakhstan.
    Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) held their latest round of talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on February 26 and 27.
    The meeting was reported to be a “partial” success, with the Iranian side saying that the six major powers had adopted a more realistic approach to the nuclear issue.
    According to DEBKAfile, following are U.S. concessions to Tehran:
    (1) U.S. President Barack Obama has given in to the Fordo uranium enrichment plant continuing to operate instead of shutting down, as demanded by Israel - even though its function is to produce 20 percent enriched uranium;
    (2) He has consented to the Iranians continuing to manufacture uranium to that level;
    (3) Washington has dropped its insistence on Iran sending out of the country its stocks of 3.5-5 percent enriched uranium.
    With these gains, the Iranian negotiators must have been laughing all the way home from their talks with the six big powers and talking proudly about what one Israeli official called “Tehran's huge success and Israel's total defeat,” the report said.
    In Almaty, the major powers dropped their demand that Iran shut down its underground uranium-enrichment plant at Fordo, and insisted instead that Iran suspend enrichment work there and agree to unspecified conditions that would make it hard to quickly resume production.
    They also said that Iran could continue to produce and keep a small amount of uranium enriched to 20 percent for use in a research reactor that produces medical isotopes, according to the New York Times.
    If Tehran agreed to these steps, the major powers said they would suspend some sanctions against Iran, including trade in gold and petrochemicals, and would not impose new sanctions through the United Nations Security Council and the European Union. The main oil and financial sanctions would not be loosened, according to the Tehran Times.