On Tuesday, Iran accepted a compromise on the agenda of a 130-nation nuclear conference. The meeting had been stalled since it opened on April 30th because Tehran refused to accept a phrase calling for the "need for full compliance with" the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The deal ends six days of deadlock that threatened to doom the gathering to failure.
According to the Associated Press, delegates said Tehran feared they would become the meeting's target because of their refusal to meet U.N. Security Council demands and to cease uranium enrichment.
Tehran objected to an agenda item that called for full compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran wanted to amend this to read compliance with "all the provisions" of the NPT, arguing that would pressure nuclear states to fulfill disarmament pledges and not just focus on proliferation issues.
In the end, Iran accepted an explanatory footnote to that effect, rather than a re-working of the basic text. Iranian ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh said his government was accepting this compromise "in a display of good will and flexibility."
Meanwhile, beginning this weekend, Iranian President Ahmadinejad, is planning to pay a visit to the United Arab Emirates and Oman to discuss regional developments as well as Iran's nuclear issue.
Hamid Reza Asefi, Iran's ambassador to the UAE, said that UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan invited President Ahmadinejad to visit to the country.
According to PressTV, the Iranian President is expected to arrive in Oman's capital, Muscat, on Saturday to hold two-day talks on bilateral ties and regional developments and is the first visit by an Iranian President to the UAE since 1979.
