A14 The World BY GLENN KESSLER


united nations — Iran in- creasingly appears willing to en- ter into negotiations in the near future over its nuclear program, diplomats close to the talks said Wednesday, a move that would restart a process that ended abruptly last fall. Iranian President Mahmoud


Ahmadinejad this week ex- pressed public interest in renew- ing talks with the United States and other major powers. Iranian officials have privately echoed that sentiment in conversations with diplomats on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, leading officials to believe Teh- ran will soon formally agree to resume talks. Secretary of StateHillary Rod-


ham Clinton and her counter- parts from Russia, China, Brit- ain, France and Germany met Wednesday to discuss the pros- pects for negotiations and to review the implementation of sanctions imposed on Iran in June by the U.N. Security Coun- cil. In a statement afterward, the


CHRIS HONDROS/GETTY IMAGES


Iranian PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed recent interest in renewing talks with theUnited States and other major powers.


officials stressed their interest in a reaching a deal with Tehran. “We reaffirmed our determi- nation and commitment to seek


an early negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and focused our discussion on fur- ther practical steps to achieve it


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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 Iran signals interest in talks on nuclear program, diplomats say


at an early date,” the ministers said in a statement read to reporters by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is the chief negotia- tor with Iran for the major powers. The statement did not suggest


any new sanctions or other puni- tive steps on Iran if it failed to negotiate seriously, and diplo- mats said any discussion of new sanctions would be far in the future. In a tentative deal reached in


Geneva in October, Iran agreed to begin discussing its nuclear programwhile theUnited States, Russia and France agreed to help refuel an Iranian research reac- tor used for medical purposes. But the negotiations never began and the deal to help with the research reactor quickly fell apart too. In the past year, amid signs of


a slowdown in nuclear work, Iran has significantly bolstered its stockpile of low-enriched ura- nium and begun to enrich an even higher-grade stockpile for the research reactor — even


though it lacks the technical capability to turn the material into usable fuel rods. Iran has tried to make the


need to refuel the research reac- tor the center of the talks — notably in a deal with Brazil and Turkey that was ignored by ma- jor powers — but diplomats said Iran’s inability to fuel the Tehran Research Reactor provides an opening for confidence-building steps that would lead to a broad- er agreement on Iran’s larger nuclear program. “They have gotten the mes-


sage: The TRRmay be a problem for them, but it is not a problem for us,” a senior diplomat said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “The TRR is not the point of this. The point of this is the Iranians have a nuclear pro- gram that looks like a nuclear weapons program.” A senior U.S. official, briefing


reporters after the meeting Wednesday, said they focused on a “phased approach” to the talks and “how a revised and updated arrangement for providing fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor


could be part of that effort as a way to build confidence and pave the way for tackling the hard issues at the core of Iran’s nucle- ar program.” He spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the State Depart- ment. Officials are also brainstorm-


ing other ways to ensure the success of this set of talks — the latest in a series of stop-and-start negotiations with Tehran since 2003. The United States has ruled


out any grand gesture, such as Clinton joining the other foreign ministers in a meeting with Ah- madinejad, but there is an in- tense desire to finally break out of an unproductive cycle. “We want the engagement to


be a real engagement, and we will do some intensive thinking now to have an arsenal of ideas. But we also think it is time the Iranians produced an idea or two,” the senior diplomat said. “So far the pattern is we produce ideas and they produce enriched uranium.”


kesslerg@washpost.com


At home, Ahmadinejad faces political battle over efforts to widen his presidential powers Ahmadinejad’s domestic prob- BY THOMAS ERDBRINK


tehran— As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pre- pares to address theU.N.General Assembly on Thursday, he faces a defining political battle at home that is paralyzing the decision- making process in the Islamic republic. The dispute centers on at-


tempts by Ahmadinejad towiden his presidential powers, and the tension goes well beyond the opposition he faced in last year’s disputed election fromthe grass- roots Green Movement, which is less visible but still widely sup- ported in larger cities. Instead, the current challenge comes from competing power centers, such as parliament and the judi- ciary, and includes some who supported Ahmadinejad in the past. The roots of this conflict run deep, and the rift among top leaders appears to be widening, analysts say.


lemsworsenedWednesday,when a bomb exploded at an annual army parade in the predominant- ly Kurdish city of Mahabad in northwestern Iran. Officials said 11 people were killed and at least 93 were wounded in the blast, which highlighted tensions in the border areas near Iraq and Turkey. The episode could also trigger further unrest in Iran’s Kurdish region, where unem- ployment is higher than in other parts of the country. For now, however, Supreme


Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to support Ahmadine- jad’s government, and his posi- tion appears to be safe. But as a result of the infight-


ing, several laws passed by par- liament have not been ratified by the president. In addition, a sweeping plan to change the system of state subsidies, which is expected to increase the prices paid by many in the country for gasoline, bread and several other


essential goods, was postponed without explanation Monday, only days before itwas scheduled to take effect. A debate has been raging in


Iran about Ahmadinejad’s recent assertion that, after the supreme leader, it is his government, and not parliament, that is the high- est authority in the country. He touched on a particularly


sensitive area when he added that an edict by Ayatollah Ruhol- lah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic, stating that parliament comes before the gov- ernment, was outdated. “Such sentences belonged to a


time when our system was a parliamentary system,” Ah- madinejad was quoted as saying by the government newspaper Iran. In 1989, after Khomeini’s death, Iran’s constitution was changed and the post of prime minister was abolished. Warring political factions in


Iran all say they rule by the late leader’s edicts and represent his


line of thinking, and saying that some of his words are no longer valid is one of the biggest politi- cal taboos in the Islamic repub- lic.


Parliament speaker Ali Lari-


jani responded by saying the edict was made by Khomeini in order to prevent “dictatorship,” echoing similar warnings made by other officials. Ahmadinejad’s government


faces growing opposition from influential clerics and politi- cians, includingmany old revolu- tionaries with long careers in Iran’s political system. They have complained publicly about what they see as his failure to take economic sanctions seriously, foreign policy moves that are alienating potentially friendly nations, and his unwillingness to work with other power centers within the country. In return, Ahmadinejad has


accused some of having enriched themselves since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Both he and Khame-


nei have deplored “moaners” who “exaggerate” and refuse to see the giant leaps that they say Iran hasmade under the current administration. Khamenei, speaking last


Thursday in front of a council of clerics that theoretically has the power to remove himfromoffice, defended the government and deplored those whomake people lose “hope” in Iran’s system of theological rule mixed with di- rect elections. “Great efforts are being made


— devoted and sincere efforts,” Khamenei said, praising the gov- ernment’s ambitions to make Iran one of the most powerful nations in the world. Hewarned that outside forces,


with support of some in the country, are trying to seed dis- trust of the government. Still, in a recent meeting with


members of the government, Khamenei publicly called on Ah- madinejad to accept more criti- cism and cooperate more with


parliament. Despite the growing criticism


of Ahmadinejad, his position does not seem to be under seri- ous threat. Unless the ruling faction feels


that the system is in real danger, “Ahmadinejad’s position is safe,” said Abbas Abdi, an analyst criti- cal of the government. Mohammad Khoshchehreh, a


former member of parliament who used to support Ahmadine- jad, said he fears that economic problems and other challenges facing the country are not being dealt with while politicians squabble over the division of power. “The danger is that this will


certainly result in bitter political infighting in the mid-level and intensified social unrest,” he said. “If things continue as they are, this scenario seems certain.” erdbrinkt@washpost.com


Special correspondent Kay Armin Serjoie contributed to this report.


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