BID TO INCREASE BARGAINING POWER

Buckling under Western sanctions, Iran recently said it wants to restart nuclear talks with G5+1 countries, which have been deadlocked for more than one year.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Feb. 10 that talks with G5+1 countries may restart in the near future, and that Iran is trying to clarify some issues about which the six powers are not clear.

Iranian officials reiterated Monday that Tehran agrees to restart nuclear talks with related parties, cooperate with the IAEA, and hold a new round of "fruitful" negotiations over its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Iran said Wednesday that its chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili has replied to EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton's letter over the resumption of nuclear talks that was sent to Tehran in October.

Jalili said in the letter that Iran welcomes a resumption of the talks and that "the success of the talks is subject to the constructive response of the G5+1 to the initiatives of the Islamic Republic."

Analysts believed Iran's tactics of replying to Ashton's letter and announcing its nuclear achievements simultaneously are aimed at gaining some bargaining power in the next round of nuclear talks, if talks are to be held, and showing that Tehran's willingness of returning to the negotiation table is not a result of Western pressure, but of Tehran's own volition.

Experts noted that how the Iranian nuclear issue is going to unfold will largely depend on the results of the upcoming visit by an IAEA delegation and the next round of talks between Tehran and the G5+1 countries.