The NYT tells us this evening the “Little Progress Is Seen” in the current round of talks between Britain, France, Germany and Iran about the latter’s nuclear ambitions.
Representatives of three European countries and Iran met Wednesday for the first time since negotiations over Iran’s nuclear development program were suspended four months ago in bitterness. After five hours of closed-door meetings in Vienna, the delegates said the two sides had agreed to hold further talks in January.
The purpose of what European diplomats were calling “talks about talks” was to see if enough common ground existed for the stalled negotiations to resume next year.
“Both sides set out their positions in an open and frank manner,” the leader of the French delegation, Stanislav de Laboulaye, told reporters, using a diplomatic code that usually signifies sharp differences.
Mr. Laboulaye said the delegates would return to their home countries for consultations “with the aim of agreeing on a framework for negotiations.” But it seemed virtually certain that the two sides had failed to agree on resuming substantive talks.
Well, you would think so given the recent comments by “President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which he has called the Holocaust a myth and said Israel should be ‘wiped off the map.’”
Despite all, however, the mammoth cooperation between France and Iran continues apace. “With the South Pars project, TotalFinaElf has become the foremost oil company in partnership with Iran and has bolstered its position in the Middle East, where the Group has been active for some 75 years.” Holocaust-Shmolocaust.
Surely, one would not even suggest that the French are not totally committed to be as firm
as possible with Iran in these talks.
There is a phrase perhaps, unsuited for this site, but it would be to put it, less than delicately, an international “circle jerk.”
It’s not just the Holocaust – MEMRI noted that yesterday Iranian television had a discussion with “political analysts” where they not only denied the Holocaust but also explained that in 19th century London and Paris Jews had killed children to use their blood at Passover.
I’m just afraid that Ahmadinejad’s recent rhetoric means that the Iranians do have a nuke or two, so the Iranian government doesn’t feel the need to veil their true feelings anymore.
What does the Arab world think is going to happen to them if the Iranians nuke Israel? Wouldn’t you think that they would also try to stop the Iranian nuclear program? I’m increasingly getting the feeling that it is 1914 alll over again…
Iran nukes Israel and takes care of the Arab world’s Pali problem.
Fallout to Egypt to let them know they’re not the leaders anymore.
It’s not just France, of course: recently, Halliburton signed a contract with Iran to help develop a new oil facility, surprising some who did not think the Iranians would deal with an American company. But, with the Iranian oil company at least, it’s probably all about the money, not Allah.