The United States is sending an envoy to the talks for the first time, seeking to underline to the Islamic Republic and others that Washington wants a diplomatic solution to the impasse.

That surprise US move has raised hopes that the talks will help to defuse growing tensions over a nuclear programme which the West fears is a cover for making bombs. Tehran says it is aimed solely at generating electricity.

Fractured relations

In a further indication of a possible thaw, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki raised the prospect of talks on restoring fractured relations between Iran and the US. Washington has had no relations with Iran since 1980.

“I think there may be talks on both the US founding an interest preserving bureau in Iran and direct flights between the two countries,” Mottaki said during a visit to Ankara. He did not specify when and in what shape those talks could occur. Chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili was upbeat about the nuclear talks in Geneva on Saturday.

“If they enter (negotiations) with a constructive approach and by avoiding previous mistakes, we can definitely have good and constructive negotiations,” Iranian media quoted Jalili as saying when asked about the US presence.

Senior US diplomat Williams Burns will join European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and officials from Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China for the meeting.

The powers are seeking a more detailed Iranian response to their enhanced offer of financial and diplomatic incentives to halt secretive nuclear activity.

A senior Iranian official said the Geneva talks would be pivotal in deciding whether diplomacy could succeed.
“This talks will clarify the fate of the negotiations. After the meeting, either negotiations will continue or it will fully stop,” said the official.

When asked whether it meant Iran was ready to freeze any expansion of its nuclear programme in return for the UN Security Council halting further sanctions measures against it, the source said “not at all”.