ISTANBUL: Iranian negotiators said they had no fresh offer to make for a nuclear fuel swap when they meet six world powers Friday, and Russia said talks should also address prospects for easing sanctions on Tehran. The Al-Arabiya TV news channel reported Tuesday that Iran would propose a revised version of a deal that was agreed in principle at a 2009 round of talks but then unraveled. But Iranian officials denied any such intentions. “I haven't heard about it,” Ali Baqeri, a deputy to Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, told Reuters as the Iranian delegation arrived in Istanbul Thursday. Another Iranian official said: “There is no new proposal. This is something created by the Western media. Why should we propose such a thing?” Tougher sanctions over the last year and possible sabotage that may have slowed Iran's nuclear advances could buy extra time for diplomacy and reduce the risk of the long-running row escalating into a military conflict, at least for now. The six big powers dealing with Iran via European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton are the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany. The UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran in June last year. The United States and European Union followed up with additional unilateral sanctions. Expectations of any breakthrough in an eight-year-old standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions were low ahead of a second round of negotiations between Iran and the powers in the Turkish city of Istanbul Friday and Saturday. Signaling determination to keep up pressure on Iran, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the US television network ABC the Obama administration may propose new unilateral sanctions on Iran, one of the world's largest oil exporters.
