Iran wants new proposals before talks

World powers negotiating with Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme must come up with new proposals before talks in Geneva on Oct 15-16, Iran’s foreign minister said.

The US wants Iran to respond to proposals by world powers in February as a starting point for talks. If the parties cannot agree on how to start negotiations, it casts doubt on whether a resolution can be agreed within the six months Iranian president Hassan Rouhani says he wants a deal.

Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US — the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — plus Germany, the so-called P5+1, said in February they want Iran to stop enrichment of uranium to 20%, ship out some stockpiles, and shutter a facility where such enrichment is done.