Iran Live: Another Move on Syria

Presidents Ahmadinejad & Assad1540 GMT: Nuclear Watch

Iranian media report that Iran and the United Nations nuclear watchdog will have further talks over Tehran's disputed nuclear program around May 21 in Vienna, Iranian media reported on Monday.

There was no immediate confirmation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), leaving unclear whether a firm date for the next meeting had already been agreed.

Iran's Mehr and ISNA news agencies initially reported that the meeting would be held on May 21, but ISNA later quoted an unnamed official as saying this was only a "preliminary agreement" and that the date could be moved by one or two days.

1230 GMT: Sanctions Watch

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has indicated that the European Union will not be imposing new sanctions on Tehran.

Speaking before an EU Foreign Ministers' meeting in Luxembourg, Hague said, "We must maintain (current) sanctions pressure, not proposing new ones."

Hague claimed economic pressure from Europe was increasing on the Islamic Republic, due to wide sanctions against banking and industry imposed last July, and there was time to wait with more.

0705 GMT: Election Watch (Khatami Edition)

Former President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, in a speech to veterans of the 1980s Iran-Iraq War on Saturday, appears to have ruled out candidacy in June's Presidential election.

Bahar News quotes Khatami:

One could consider standing only if there was the slightest sign of change, but unfortunately there is no evidence of this.

The reality is that they will not allow me to get involved....Personally, I will not be able to tolerate the costs that will be imposed on the country and people because of my decision to run. How can one stand in the election, especially when they do not approve of this and will not allow it. Even more important than that is the question of how can one run the country with so many problems.

Khatami pointed to Mir Hossein Mousavi, the leading challenger to President Ahmadinejad in the 2009 election and under strict house arrest since February 2011:

[He tried in 2009] to rescue the establishment. This is while they say he had only come for toppling the system.

The former President also cited the cases of other political prisoners and of those subjected to harassment: "They constantly accuse us of espionage for the CIA, Mossad, MI6 and Soros Foundation. This is while there is no room for defence. If these accusations are true, put us on trial to clarify the situation.

Khatami said, "It was much easier to work in the past....But what about now? In addition, people expect everything to change overnight and this would add to the pressure."

So, he concluded, it would be his honour to serve the people....

But all the existing evidence shows that they will not allow this. Therefore, I believe that another political figure, who is competent but would provoke less sensitivity, would be able to work much better.

0605 GMT: Economy Watch

Minister of Economy Shamseddin Hosseini puts out the regime's all-is-well line in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, declaring:

Our financial system is very flexible and very modern. One important lesson we've learned from the sanctions: We have to use all kinds of foreign exchange. We don't depend on euros or dollars.

Hosseini asserted that Tehran's foreign reserves, despite a 70% fall in the Iranian currency and restrictions on its financial sector, remain above $100 billion.

It is impossible to verify Hosseini's claim. Estimates of the reserves were about $80 billion at the end of 2011, and some leading Iranian politicians said last summer that they had fallen up to 50% amid economic difficulties.

Hosseini was in Washington last week for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Meanwhile, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company, Ahmad Qalebani, has said Tehran is owed $4 billion for oil sales by customers who have been unable to pay because of sanctions.

Qalebani said, "There is a possibility that it could be paid either as medicine, food or barter of commodities."

0600 GMT: Foreign Affairs Watch (Syrian Front)

Iran's Foreign Ministry has announced that negotiations with Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia over the Syrian conflict will soon resume.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said the talks, amid failed foreign military intervention, would show that diplomacy is the way of resolving the issue. He claimed that, during his recent trip to Cairo, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi expressed support.

Amir-Abdollahian added that Egyptian authorities would soon announce the date of the meeting.

Last autumn Iran pursued a "contact group" with the three countries, putting out a nine-point plan to resolve the Syrian crisis, but the initiative quickly fell apart when Saudi Arabia did not join the first meeting of ministers.