Iran has announced that it officially is welcoming talks over its nuclear program. Likely, Iran is looking for gains in exchange for changes in - or even outright abandonment of - their nuclear program. While complete abandonment of their nuclear program is highly unlikely, suspension of the program, perhaps for increased trade, or maybe normalized relations with the U.S., is probably the goal of U.S. diplomats. The talks will be among the five United Nations Security Council members, Germany and Iran.
Suspension of the program will face much opposition from both internal and external factors. Inside Iran, the hardliners would still push for continuation of the program for both the energy and potential weapons gains. Outside of Iran, Russia has been supplying them with the nuclear material which they are attempting to enrich. This is a nice revenue source for Russia and Russia is a valuable trading partner with Iran so they do not wish to stop a profitable relationship.
If the main issue that the U.S. has is the enriching of uranium, then there is a practical solution. There are heavy water nuclear reactors which do not require enriched uranium as a fuel. These reactors do not produce as much plutonium (the material used in nuclear weapons) as other reactors. Many countries have used this type of reactor including Canada, China and India. However, if the impasse is the very fact that it is a nuclear program, the talks will likely be just that, talks.
Okay, okay, the real reason for the post:
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