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The Wall Street Journal: â€œThe negotiations between Iran and world powers will resume after the U.S. presidential electionâ€

25 October 2012 12:41 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The Obama administration and European Union expect negotiations between Iran and world powers over its nuclear program to resume after the U.S. presidential election in November, with a renewed focus on getting Tehran to give up more nuclear fuel in exchange for economic incentives, The Wall Street Journal reported.

U.S. and European officials stressed in recent interviews that no firm date has been set for new talks between Iran and the international negotiating bloc, known as P5+1, which includes the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany. But they said they see a diplomatic window between the U.S. election and Iran’s presidential election in June.

White House and State Department officials denied a weekend story in the New York Times that the U.S. and Iran have reached an agreement "in principle" to hold one-on-one negotiations on the nuclear issue after the Nov. 6 U.S. vote. These U.S. officials said a bilateral format could undercut a core plank of President Barack Obama’s Iran strategy, which seeks to maximize pressure on Tehran by maintaining unity among the six members of the P5+1.

Obama will stress during Monday’s debate his commitment to denying Iran a nuclear weapon but also his administration’s willingness to engage Iran on the nuclear issue through the P5+1 process. Besides, the president will also say U.S.-led sanctions against Iran are causing unprecedented stress on Tehran’s economy, including fueling a 60% fall in the value of the Iranian currency this year