Three days of meetings between the five permanent members of the United Nations security Council plus Germany - and Iranian officials - are scheduled to begin today in Vienna. The aim is to hash out the details of an interim nuclear deal made last November.
While the six-month interim deal provides a bit of breathing space until a more permanent one can be reached, it reflects a possible thaw in relations between Iran and the rest of the world, regarding its nuclear ambitions. With the interim agreement, Tehran is allowing for a more intrusive inspection of its nuclear program, which many has alarmed many world powers because of its potential to produce a weapon. Tehran has strenuously denied that it is refining uranium to build a nuclear weapon. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says the talks to reach a more comprehensive accord will, quote, "lead nowhere." U.S. president Barack Obama appears to be a lot more optimistic, but still puts the odd of success at 50-50. All parties to these talks say they recognize that this is only the first step on what Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif predicts will be a "long road ahead."
