Iran and the five permanent members (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and China) of the UN Security Council and Germany concluded two days of talks in Istanbul. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary, Saeed Jalili stated that “the talks focused on common ground for cooperation.” He also added that Iran is still ready to engage in additional negotiations, though the talks should be based on logic. Iran has constantly said that it will never give in to the major powers’ pressure applied through threats and the imposition of sanctions. The Istanbul meeting was the second round of talks since the negotiations restarted last month in Geneva, breaking a 14-month gap. The Iranian negotiators insisted on Iran’s principled postures and declined to discuss the issues raised outside the framework of the Geneva agreement.1

• 1. “Istanbul talks focus on common ground,” Tehran Times, January 23, 2011, at http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=234572