Nuclear talks in Istanbul end in impasse with no new date

The world powers' bid to address the controversy over Iran's nuclear program by diplomacy has ended in impasse. Saturday, Jan. 22,   EU foreign policy executive Catherine Ashton who led the team of six powers said Iran had come to the talks with pre-conditions but the door was still open. Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili demanded international recognition of his country's right to uranium enrichment. The rehashed enriched uranium swap plan was rejected.
On the first day, Friday, Jalili refused outright to discuss his own country's nuclear program and kept on turning the subject back to Israel's reported nuclear arsenal. Our sources report that Ashton physically blocked the exit of the conference chamber to prevent the Iranian delegate from walking out. He finally agreed to stay another day in response to her pleas but refused to change his position.

Western diplomats used very undiplomatic language to describe how "very angry and frustrated" they were with Iran's attitude to yet another US-led bid to solve the nuclear controversy with Iran by diplomacy and dialogue..
One Western diplomat recalled anonymously how on Oct. 5, 2000, Madeleine Albright, then US Secretary of State, locked the gates of a venue in Paris to stop Yasser Arafat walking out of a meeting with then prime minister Ehud Barak that Washington had called to try and avert the Palestinian uprising.
In London, Britain's former Prime Minister Tony Blair issued the strongest call yet from any Western statesman to take the gloves off with Iran.

"I say this to you with all of the passion I possibly can – at some point the West has to get out of what I think is a wretched policy or posture of apology for believing that we are causing what the Iranians are doing, or what these extremists are doing," he said. "We are not. The fact is they are doing it because they disagree fundamentally with our way of life and they'll carry on doing it unless they are met by the requisite determination and if necessary, force."
From his experience as Middle East peace envoy, Blair said, "…the impact and the influence of Iran is everywhere. It is negative, destabilizing, it is supportive of terrorist groups and it is doing everything it can to impede progress in the Middle East process."

Blair said bluntly that US President Barack Obama is "too soft" with Iran. His critical remarks were directed equally at the Netanyahu government in Jerusalem, which closely aligns its Iran policy with that of Washington.
debkafile's sources report that opponents of military force against Iran have lately gained ground in Israel's top military and intelligence ranks.

Iran's state media do not even use the word "nuclear" in reporting on the talks taking place between the head of its national security council and a group made up of the US, China, France, Germany, Russia and the UK  – calling them only a search for "common grounds for cooperation."

Ahead of the Istanbul meeting, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared: "100,000 resolutions (sanctions) will not divert us from our course."