Iran agrees to discuss nuclear issue with the IAEA; Iran condemns Saudi Arabia over Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi’s remarks ; Iranian officials release US President Obama’s letter to Iran
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  • According to reports, Iran said on January 17, 2012 that it was open to discuss “any issues” in rare talks this month with the U.N. nuclear watchdog IAEA, which wants Tehran to address mounting concerns that it may be trying to develop nuclear weapons capability. A senior Iranian official said that a high-level team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would hold three days of talks in Tehran from January 29-31, 2012. The IAEA delegation, to be headed by Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts, is expected to seek explanations regarding intelligence information which indicated that Iran is engaged in research and development of nuclear weapons. Iran’s IAEA envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh told that “We are open to discuss any issues that the IAEA is interested to discuss, within the framework of its mandate of course ... I am optimistic that we will have a constructive, professional, technical meeting.”1

    In another development, according to reports, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has advised Saudi officials against making injudicious remarks about boosting oil production amid European countries’ efforts to impose oil sanctions on the Islamic republic. “We expect the countries in the Persian Gulf region, particularly Saudi Arabia, with which we have always called for the best relations, to avoid injudicious discourses,” Salehi said on Tuesday in response to Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi’s comments that his country will make up for any shortfall in world oil supply caused by sanctions against Iran. “If Saudi officials’ recent remarks are to be regarded as their official view, we advise them to respond more thoughtfully and sensibly to regional issues,” Salehi added. It would be worth noting that Iran exports roughly 2.5 million barrels per day. 2

    In other developments, according to reports, a number of Iranian officials have released the details of the letter that US President Barack Obama recently sent to Tehran. Earlier, the New York Times, citing US government officials, wrote on January 12 that the Obama administration had sent a message to Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warning that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a “red line” that would provoke a response by the US. In the letter, Obama has also announced readiness for negotiation and the resolution of mutual disagreements. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ramin Mehmanparast said that US officials had sent a message on the Strait of Hormuz to the Islamic Republic through three officials, noting, “Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, delivered a letter to Mohammad Khazaii, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ambassador (to the UN). The Swiss ambassador to Tehran (Livia Leu Agosti) also conveyed the message, and Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president, conveyed the message to officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran as well.” 3

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