Iran continues to play a political game with international interlocutors on its nuclear programme even though patience is wearing thin among them about its prevarications and real attitudes.
The country's chief negotiator said that Tehran was still reviewing proposals backed by the five members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany and would not be ready to respond to them until August 22nd. The issue was referred there last week after Iran's failure to meet an earlier deadline, so this looks like a provocation. But this impression was tempered yesterday by a strong statement of Iran's willingness to have nuclear talks with European states. This was accompanied with an accusation that the United States was trying to disrupt these talks.
Transatlantic differences have been a constant factor in this dispute. They were addressed by the announcement last month that the US would join direct talks with Iran, reversing a long period of non-engagement. This gave a boost to the European initiative for a political approach to the issue, resulting in the submission of detailed proposals to Iran, containing a mixture of incentives and sanctions in return for its co-operation.
It is this package which is at issue now - and timing has become much more important as a measure of trust in the engagement. Frustration over Iran's continuing delays and suspected duplicity firmed up attitudes among the negotiating group to the point where they agreed to refer the matter to the Security Council. At that level, Russia and China remain unwilling to go with strong sanctions, although they share a sense of exasperation about Iran's delays. Yesterday a senior US official revealed that several Iranians had witnessed the North Korean test-firing of missiles on July 4th, reinforcing the perception that both states are working together.
The crisis in Lebanon adds another hugely turbulent dimension to the negotiations, reinforcing their importance. Iran is seen in Washington as the main sponsor of Hizbullah, reopening the debate on how best to handle relations with Tehran and whether it can ever be trusted. The Security Council will decide on a detailed response to Iran in the coming days, including possible sanctions and a firm timetable for compliance. Yesterday's statement has potentially fruitful aspects, showing that the pragmatic current in Iran's governing regime sees the benefits of a co-operative approach. But it would be a mistake to prolong these talks indefinitely. Iran should recognise that it will have to respond substantively next month if sanctions are to be avoided.