Iran nuclear talks begin with rare mood of optimism The negotiations began on Saturday in Istanbul with Iran's representatives meeting the five permanent members of the Security Council - America, Britain, France, Russia and China - along with Germany. The last time that Iran met this contact group, which styles itself the "P5 plus 1," its negotiator declined even to discuss the nuclear programme unless all sanctions were lifted. On that occasion, Saeed Jalili, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, did little but denounce and condemn his interlocutors. When he addressed the opening session of these talks on Saturday, however, Mr Jalili was "calm and constructive," said a diplomat. He was "not particularly bombastic or propagandistic" and - crucially - he abandoned any preconditions for negotiating over the nuclear issue, which forms the crux of the impasse between Iran and its adversaries and the key reason for the imposition of four rounds of United Nations sanctions. Before addressing the delegates, who are senior diplomats from the foreign ministries of the six countries, Mr Jalili had a three-hour dinner with Baroness Ashton, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs. This private meeting on Friday night also saw the Iranian adopt a constructive and calm approach. However, Mr Jalili has so far made no specific suggestions for how to resolve the confrontation. There is a difference of tone and new willingness to discuss the nuclear issue, but no clear idea for how to bridge the gap between the two sides, which centres on Iran's insistence on its right to enrich uranium, a process that could be used to make the essential material for a nuclear weapon. The best outcome of these talks would be a constructive atmosphere and an agreement to meet again in between four and six weeks. On the evidence of the first session, this seems the most likely result.