President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced yesterday that Iran will submit a new proposal to resolve the nuclear issue with the P5+1 countries.
The parties have all agreed to meet for another round of discussions over the matter in the next few weeks, which the US will attend. Presumably, the proposal will be offered at that time, though no date has been set yet for the meeting to take place.
Previously, both sides have submitted their own separate proposals–Iran offered its plan in May of last year, and the P5+1 countered with its plan in June. The diplomatic back-and-forth laid down the outlines of a possible agreement, but neither side responded officially to the other’s offer and the proposals were left to languish.
Yesterday’s announcement gives both parties a chance to start anew, breaking the logjam left over from the end of last year. Ideally, this new development will serve as a starting point for real, substantive discussions over how to resolve the ongoing dispute.
April 15, 2009