nuclear-news

Rouhani made his remarks to a conference of 1,500 economists in Tehran, Iran’s Fars news agency said. The speech, delivered before nuclear talks resume next week in Geneva, appeared to be an attempt to stave off criticism from hard-liners while demonstrating a willingness to work with international powers………

Anti-Western hawks in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who report to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lead companies that have benefited from sanctions and have been wary of nuclear negotiations.

With Sunday’s speech, Rouhani paved the way for a nuclear deal in coming months, raising the specter of referendums to head off criticism from conservatives, said Tehran political analyst Nader Karimi Juni.

“President Rouhani is preparing public opinion and hard-liners for the deal to happen,” Juni said, sending a signal that “the number of centrifuges and enrichment levels are not red lines for Iran.”…….http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iran-president-nuclear-deal-20150104-story.html