The most recent round of nuclear negotiations with Iran began with optimism. The previous round of talks appeared to make headway and there was hope that a breakthrough could be achieved when the seven parties — the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council or P5 states (Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States), Germany and Iran — resumed discussions in Baghdad late last month. Those hopes were dashed, however, by the two sides' intransigence. The next round of talks are scheduled to convene in Moscow on June 18 and 19, but in the absence of compromise, those too are likely to fail.
The P5+1 (as they are known) want to stop Iran from acquiring the capability to build a nuclear weapon. In practical terms, that means capping efforts to enrich uranium, giving up the enriched uranium it has, and opening up its facilities to inspections and monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — the world body that sees that governments do not proliferate. Iran wants acknowledgement of its right to enrich uranium and the lifting of international sanctions that are crippling its economy.
If both sides are sincere — Iran says it has no desire to build or acquire a nuclear weapon and the West says that it does not seek regime change in Tehran — then a deal should be possible. The P5+1 would acknowledge Iran's right to enrich uranium and lift sanctions, while Iran would open its facilities to the IAEA and cap its enrichment effort at a low level — less than 5 percent — rather than its current enrichment level of 20 percent.