The Latest from Iran (5 January): Shaky Currency, Desperate Measures, and An Outright Lie
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 10:00See also Iran Feature: Is Ahmadinejad's Government Fuelling the Currency Crisis?
The Latest from Iran (4 January): If You Yell Victory, Does It Count?
Tehran Times: All is Well2110 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Pro-Ahmadinejad State news agency strikes a very different note on the visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu (see 2100 GMT). Forget all the chatter about nuclear talks; IRNA's concern is the President's declaration on "the need for vigilance against the intrigues of the enemies of humanity".
2100 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Turkish Front). Back from a break to look through reports of today's meetings in Tehran between Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Iranian officials, including President Ahmadinejad and Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi....
Davutoğlu's headline announcement was that he had delivered a "Western" offer to resume talks on Iran's nuclear programme and that Salehi had accepted: "We are waiting for a good result coming out of the willingness of the two parties to go back to the negotiating table."
Salehi confirmed that Iran was ready to return to talks "at a time and place agreed by both sides".
However, a European official said Iran had still yet to formally accept a new meeting in writing: "We still await [Iran's] response to [European Union High Representative Catherine] Ashton's letter of October. We are open to talks on confidence-building measures without preconditions....But it's up to Iran to respond in writing."
Iranian media such as ISNA and Press TV are highlighting Salehi's declaration that Iran is "ready for negotiation".