Iran playing games over venue for talks

Dubai: Iran, preparing to hold new talks with world powers over its controversial nuclear programme later this month, is "sending messages" to Turkey and the West by trying to change the meeting venue, according to political experts.

The talks are due to take place in Istanbul, but Tehran has suggested a number of other options including Baghdad, Beirut, Damascus or even China.

The move is designed to show dismay at Ankara's position towards the situation in Syria, and to show the West the growing Iranian influence on the region, political experts in both Turkey and Iran said.

Apart from trying to "blackmail" Turkey, Iran is also attempting to win some time by creating a debate over the venue of the talks, the experts added.

Both Turkey and western powers have lacked balance in their views on several issues, including Syria, said Mohammad Sadeq Hussaini, a veteran Iranian expert.

"The Turks have shown an imbalance, confusion and hastiness towards the Syrian file, which is a sensitive one and of importance to all the people of the region and to Syria's neighbours," he told Gulf News, in reference to the solid opposition of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad in dealing with the protests. Iran is among few supporters of the Syrian regime, along with Russia and China.

"The West also, by insisting on holding the talks in Europe or in a European ally, is also taking an imbalanced [position]," Hussaini said.

On Tuesday evening, a statement posted on the Iraqi Foreign Ministry website said an "Iranian delegation expressed the desire for Iraq to host the international meeting on the Iranian nuclear file of the five permanent members of the [UN] Security Council plus Germany].

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari "confirmed that he will undertake the necessary contacts with the relevant parties on the proposal", the statement added.

Change still on table

But yesterday, Iran's foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, said Istanbul was Iran's first choice, but kept the possibility of changing the location on the table.

"Holding talks in Baghdad, and also China, as venue has been out there," Salehi was quoted as saying after a cabinet meeting in Tehran.

"This is a course that both sides need to agree on."

US secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced recently that the talks were due to take place on April 13 and 14 in Istanbul.

But both European and Russian officials cautioned that the venue has not been definitely set, and a Turkish diplomat was quoted as saying no formal request had been received.

Meanwhile, Mohsin Rezai, former chief of Iranian Revolutionary Guards and a close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, suggested Lebanon or Syria as possible venues.

The conflicting statements reflect divisions within Iran, said Ali Bakeer, a researcher at the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organisation, a Turkish think tank. "Holding the talks in Istanbul is considered a plus to the Turkish diplomacy. There are people in Iran who don't want to give Turkey this gain for free," Bakeer told Gulf News.

Moreover, the main element among the suggested venues in the region is prominent Iranian influence in these places.

“Therefore, any talks being held on the territories of any of the three places will be according to Iranian schedule and under Iranian conditions,” Bakeer said, adding that the Iranians are trying to include the Syrian case on the discussion table with the western powers. However, disagreement will surface on the venue in the coming days, and “we will witness a procrastination game, and time will be wasted.”