Multiparty nuclear dialogue starts today in Geneva

GENEVA - Talks between six world powers and Iran over the issue of Tehran's nuclear program will open today in Geneva. Five of the countries - the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France - are permanent member of the UN Security Council, with Germany taking the sixth slot.

The talks are slated to be held at a suburban villa, but the exact location is being kept secret.

American sources said yesterday that the talks will fail if Iran maintains its refusal for meaningful dialogue of the nuclear issue. While some officials have said they are coming to the table with a "positive attitude," others have expressed an unwillingness to discuss the nuclear program.

Talks have been held between Iran and the United States in the past on a variety of issues, including Afghanistan and Iraq, but this will be the first time in many years delegates of the two countries will sit at a table to discuss shared concerns, leading with the question of Iranian nuclear capability.

The American delegation to Geneva is led by William Burns, the undersecretary of state for political affairs. European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana will be representing the three EU states at the talk, and Russia, France and Germany will also be represented by the directors-generals of their foreign ministries.

The Iranian delegation will be led by Supreme National Security Council chief Saeed Jalili, who also holds the nuclear portfolio in his government.

A statement by the parties to the press is expected at 6 P.M. Israel time.

U.S. sources said yesterday that the success of the talks will be measured by an agreement to stage a second round. They said that the American and Iranian representative may, at some stage, hold a special meeting to discuss the relationship between the two countries.

Jalili said before leaving to Geneva that the Iranian delegation was arriving "with a positive attitude." He also said the talks depend on the superpowers' goodwill, but other Iranian officials had said they were not willing to discuss the nuclear program at all.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki arrived in Washington yesterday, but the American administration stressed he was coming to examine the country's unofficial diplomatic office in Washington, and no high-level meetings were planned.

Observers note that all parties understand the talks represent a near-last chance for progress, and should they fail, the next American move will be attempting to secure Chinese and Russian support in the Security Council for strict sanctions on Iran.

Such sanctions might include an embargo on refined oil exports to Iran. Should UN sanctions fail, however, the United States is likely to begin applying sanctions to banks and other commercial companies with ties to Iran - such as in the case of the city of Los Angeles canceling a $300 million contract with Siemens over the German conglomerate's connections with Tehran.