Iran nuclear talks ‘will fail under pressure’

Western ‘pressure’ will cause discussions on Iran’s controversial nuclear programme to fail, the Iranian parliamentary speaker said today.

Ali Larijani was quoted on Iranian state television as saying: “They [western nations] should pay attention that if they want to continue pressure in the talks; it will achieve nothing.”

Larijani’s comments come a day after EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represents the UK, United States, Russia, China, France and Germany in dealings with Iran, announced an agreement to resume dialogue on Iran’s nuclear programee.

Previous talks took place in Istanbul in January 2011, but stalled after Iran refused to address questions on its nuclear programme, outlining a set of "pre-conditions" such as lifting sanctions.

Ashton said: "We hope that Iran will now enter into a sustained process of constructive dialogue which will deliver real progress in resolving the international community's long-standing concerns on its nuclear programme".

A time and venue to hold the talks now needed to be agreed, she added.