Reuters:

World powers held a “positive” meeting on Saturday aimed at agreeing more U.N. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program and a deal on punitive measures could be reached within weeks, a French diplomat said. The meeting of senior officials in Paris took place the day after last-ditch talks between European Union mediator Javier Solana and Iran’s top nuclear negotiator…

Solana said his last meeting with Iran’s top nuclear negotiator on Friday was disappointing, and an EU envoy gave a negative report on Solana’s behalf on Saturday. “The meeting was a disaster,” the diplomat said, adding that Iran’s new top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, told Solana that commitments made by his predecessor were no longer on the table.

“commitments made by his predecessor were no longer on the table.” Say what you like about Iran and its leaders, but there are things to be learned from their negotiating style.

UPDATE

Saeed Jalili, Iran’s new nuclear negotiator, said in talks, “With me, you start over.”

The NYT reported these developments as follows:

In a sign that Iran has hardened its position on its nuclear program, its new nuclear negotiator said in talks in London on Friday that all proposals made in past negotiations were irrelevant and that further discussion of a curb on Iran’s uranium enrichment was unnecessary, senior officials briefed on the meeting said…

The failure in London could make it easier to pass a new Security Council resolution — even if it is not as strong as the United States, Britain and France would like it to be.

The London meeting was the first time that Mr. Jalili, a close ally of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had led negotiations on the Iranian side. His performance made clear that he brings a very different style and approach from that of his predecessor, Ali Larijani, who had taken a tough line but had shown a willingness to engage substantively on the nuclear issue.

The first hour and a half of the meeting on Friday was described as a monologue, with Mr. Jalili speaking about the will of the Iranian people to support uranium enrichment, theology, God, even his doctoral thesis, according to several officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under normal diplomatic rules.

“Jalili said, ‘Everything in the past is past, and with me, you start over,’” an official said. “He said, ‘None of your proposals has any standing.’”

When Mr. Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said that he was under the assumption that there would be continuity in the talks, Mr. Jalili told him that was wrong. After the meeting, Mr. Solana abandoned his habitual optimistic stance, telling reporters that he was “disappointed.”

The French official described the meeting as “a disaster,” adding “Jalili essentially said, ‘Everything that Larijani has proposed is a dead letter and we have to start from zero.’”

The official also said that Mr. Jalili had declared, “There is no longer an Iranian nuclear problem,” and had added that the only interlocutor recognized by Iran from now on would be the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The hard-line position from the Iranian side was clear confirmation that Iran would not compromise on this issue, the French official said, adding, “We have in front of us the real Iran.” An official involved in the talks put it even more bluntly, saying, “We can’t do business with these guys at this point.”

This looks like an impasse, and a bad one at that. “Disaster” is not a common public comment among diplomats.

UPDATE II

Something would appear to have changed in recent days, perhaps as a result of Iran’s new hard line. The FT says that China has come around on Iranian sanctions:

China has for the first time indicated clear support for a new package of United Nations sanctions against Iran, breaking months of deadlock inside the UN security council over how to respond to Tehran’s nuclear programme.

In a move that will boost expectations in western capitals that a new UN sanctions resolution could be agreed within weeks, Beijing signalled over the weekend that it was prepared to back measures that will hit Iran’s banking and business sector, while also prohibiting more senior Iranians from travelling abroad.

Of the five permanent members of the security council (P5), China and Russia have been most opposed to new sanctions against Iran, which the US believes is pursuing nuclear weapons.

Diplomats say China’s opposition to a sanctions package has, if anything, been even more resolute than Russia, because of fears in Beijing that such moves would undermine its trading relationship with Tehran.

However, at a meeting on Saturday of political directors of the P5 and Germany, China indicated that Iran’s recent unwillingness to co-operate with the UN over its nuclear programme means it is now prepared to back a fresh range of sanctions.

Thing seem to be coming to a head of some sort, given Iran’s ultra hard line and increasing unanimity among the US, its allies, and now China on the sanctions issue.

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