Negotiators for Iran and six world powers (five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) were making encouraging progress Saturday in bridging differences over Tehran’s nuclear program, a diplomat close to the talks said.

 

The diplomat said the unfolding dialogue between the two sides suggested they would find enough common ground for a second round in several weeks' time, AP reported.

 

According to AP, the six powers had come to Saturday's meeting with more modest expectations. 

 

The diplomat, who demanded anonymity because he was sharing information from a closed session, said the Iranians are engaging in discussion about the peaceful use of nuclear energy and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

 

He said the Iranian team had mentioned Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's "fatwa," or prohibition, of nuclear weapons for Iran, in the course of the plenary discussions. After lunch the meeting would go into bilateral sessions, he said — a setup that will be closely watched to see if the Americans meet directly with the Iranians.

 

Such encounters are rare and would indicate a further thaw in tensions at the talks.

 

"I would say there was a very constructive atmosphere compared to last time … generally a positive vibe," he said. "The principle seems to be there for future negotiations."

 

Ahead of the meeting, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is the facilitator for the six nations engaging Iran, expressed hope that it will be "the beginnings of a sustained process," in a statement whose language reflected the meeting's main goal — establishing enough trust to keep the process going.

 

Iran’s chief negotiator Saeed Jalili said the talks "will serve the dignity of the Iranian nation."

 

A senior diplomat involved in the talks said that influential Western nations now are increasingly agreed that Iran should be allowed to keep some enrichment activity "under the right circumstances". He demanded anonymity because his information was confidential.

 

Iranian officials have suggested scaling back on uranium enrichment while continuing to make nuclear fuel and ahead of the talks, Jalili, the chief Iranian nuclear negotiator, vowed to present new initiatives, without specifying what they might be.

 

"There have been signals that suggest to us they are more serious than the last time," said Ashton spokesman Michael, noting that Jalili's letter to Ashton setting up the talks indicated Iran now was ready to talk about its enrichment program.

 

Ashton and Jalili met for more than three hours over dinner Friday evening, in what participants who demanded anonymity because they were relaying confidential information said was a relaxed atmosphere.

 

They said discussions did not focus on nuclear issues. A member of the Iranian delegation told the Associated Press that when Jalili was reminded that the dinner had been planned for a shorter period, he replied, "we need to continue."