Italy optimistic about deal between Iran-world powers

Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Martha Dassu expressed satisfaction with the progressive trend of interactions between Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the major world powers over Tehran's nuclear program. “Iran recently reached an agreement with the IAEA on inspections of the Iranian nuclear sites and for reaching a final agreement (with the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) we are looking forward to the upcoming talks on November 20 (in Geneva),” the Italian foreign ministry official said. Dassu who is meanwhile the managing editor of Aspenia magazine added in an interview with an Italian state radio station that Italy’s absence in nuclear talks with Iran was due to a mistake made in the year 2003, adding, “That of course does not mean that Italy is a marginal world power.” On Tuesday, Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said if the sanctions on Iran are lifted or eased, the western countries, including Italy, will no doubt vie with each other to win the eye-catching advantages of Iran's great and lucrative market. Speaking to the Italian newspaper Corriere della sera, Bonino said, "On September 26, there was a line of politicians and diplomats at the United Nation General Assembly in New York waiting to see (President) Hassan Rouhani and (Foreign Minister) Mohammad Javad Zarif. We had to wait for our turn to see them." "I wanted to meet Zarif in Rome last Thursday, but the meeting was postponed. We are studying a program for direct cooperation with Iran which is not only on energy," the Italian top diplomat said. Bonino said Italy was the first western country which underlined the importance of Rouhani's election as the president of Iran. On recent nuclear talks in Geneva, Bonino said after 30 years, it is worth waiting a few more weeks in order to make a good deal with Iran. Then, we will have enough time to explain to Israel and other countries that feel worried about Iran's nuclear activities. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in a joint statement issued at the end of three days of talks in Geneva hailed progress in the negotiations between Iran and the six world powers, and said they would convene in the same venue on November 20 to remove the existing differences.