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| Several injured as police disperse 300 people who defied a ban and attempted to demonstrate in the capital, Algiers. Last Modified: 22 Jan 2011 16:53 GMT | ||
At least 19 people have been injured after Algerian police broke up a banned pro-democracy demonstration in Algiers aimed at pressing the government to overturn a law banning public gatherings, government officials said. Hundreds of Algerians defied the ban in an attempt to hold the demonstration on Saturday but were confronted by dozens of police armed with batons, tear gas and plexiglas shields. Said Sadi, the head of the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD), said at least 40 people were injured and dozens more were arested in the demonstration. Among those arrested was the head of the party's parliamentary group, Othmane Amazouz, Sadi said. Sadi said his party's headquarters in the Algerian capital's main avenue had been put under siege by police, describing himself as "a prisoner". "We cannot wage a peaceful campaign when we are under siege," he said, using a megaphone to address the crowd from a first-floor window. 'Violent regime' Ait Hamouda Nordine, an RCD member of parliament, told Al Jazeera: "[Algeria] is a violent regime, it's an anti-democratic regime and it is time for Algeria to attain credible and democratic systems and parties." The government had warned people not to show support for the demonstration in Algiers in a statement issued on the eve of the march, amid fears of popular unrest spreading from neighbouring Tunisia. The government warning, carried by official news agency APS, stated "marches are not allowed in Algiers" and that "all assemblies on public roads are considered a breach of public order". The march was planned "without authorisation", it said. Demonstrations are banned in Algeria because of a state of emergency in place since 1992. Tunisia effect The demonstration in Algiers came as protesters in Tunisia continued to demand the dissolution of the interim government that took charge after the country's authoritarian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was forced to flee on January 14 in the face of a popular uprising. Riots erupted in Algeria in early January over rising food costs and unemployment. Five days of clashes between demonstrators and security forces left five people dead and more than 800 wounded. The government responded swiftly by reducing the prices of oil, sugar and other basic necessities which had risen sharply, while buying up a million tonnes of wheat amid assurances that subsidies on essential goods like flour would continue. However, unrest still simmers and within the past two weeks eight people set themselves on fire in Algeria, although some cases were deemed to be linked to mental-health issues. Unemployment, specifically of the young, is a crucial issue in Algeria, a country where according to the authorities 15 million of the 36 million population is under the age of 30. Nabila Ramdani, an Algerian journalist told Al Jazeera that the situation could deteriorate in Algeria as the people there share the same problems as the Tunisians. "The protesters are saying we are sharing the same problems as the Tunisians, we have poverty in both countries, high unemployment and soaring inflation, and a corrupt government. "Just like the Tunisians, they want radical reforms, more democracy in Algeria; this is why people were shouting 'free Algeria'.” | ||
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| Source: Al Jazeera and agencies |
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Algeria democracy rally broken up
Karzai agrees to open parliament
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| Afghan president to open parliament if members of parliament agree to respect rulings of special tribunal. Last Modified: 23 Jan 2011 07:14 GMT | ||
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has agreed to inaugurate the country's parliament, despite saying earlier in the week that he would put the move on hold for a month over disputes regarding elections last year. On Saturday, Karzai reached a deal with politicians who threatened to start work without him, averting a possible constitutional crisis over the planned delay in opening the new parliament, its members. In return, MPs are expected to agree to sign a letter promising to respect the rulings of the supreme court on any review of fraud cases in the September elections. Sue Turton, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kabul, has warned, however, that negotiations are ongoing and that Wednesday's inauguration is far from confirmed. "It's a bit of a stalemate here and I'm hearing today [from diplomatic sources] that these negotiations are still very much ongoing and there is no decision yet as to whether this inauguration will go ahead on Wednesday," she reported. The deal came a day after the United States and United Nations criticised Karzai's plan to delay the opening of the 249-seat parliament. They called for it to be opened as soon as possible. Gul Pacha Majid, an Afghan politician, told the AFP news agency that a committee of 35 MPs had reached an outline agreement with Karzai after hours of talks in Kabul. "The agreement is that the president will inaugurate parliament on Wednesday and, in return, the winning candidates will respect and accept the decisions taken by the special tribunal," he said. While all of the winning candidates have not yet formally agreed to back the deal, Majid said that a large number had agreed to it and he thought that an official resolution would likely be made public on Sunday. Shukoria Barekzai, another politician, said a deal was "confirmed", and that the "supreme court will engage with us to solve the crisis". Crisis over election The deal, if confirmed, will have averted a crisis, as angry parliamentarians were threatening to inaugurate the parliament without Karzai, in an open defiance of his authority as president. The disagreement centres on the results of the fraud-hit parliamentary elections, where Pashtuns, Karzai's traditional political power base, were under-represented. While Pashtuns constitute 42 per cent of all Afghans, it is thought that only 32 per cent of the new parliamentary intake is ethnically Pashtun. Karzai's office had announced on Wednesday that it was delaying the inauguration of the parliament for a month from the original date of Sunday, January 23. That announcement followed a statement from the head of the special tribunal, who called for a delay of at least four weeks while the review of results continued. However, many winning candidates have questioned the authority of the special tribunal, saying it is unconstitutional. In a statement on Friday, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan expressed "deep concern and surprise" at the call for the delay from Karzai. But while the US, UN, European Union and other international players had called for Karzai to back down, not everyone is happy with his decision to do so. "The United States and the European Union and everyone are ganging up on the people of Afghanistan," Sultanzoy said. "It's a very tragic situation that the president is deciding to do this under international pressure." Sultanzoy and other losing parliamentarians are planning to stage a demonstration in Kabul on Sunday. He said that he expects similar demonstrations to be held nationwide, and that Afghans will be unable to trust the government after this decision. "Karzai is hitting the last nails in the coffin of this government," Sultanzoy said. Losing candidates such as Sultanzoy have been holding almost weekly demonstrations, Al Jazeera's Turton reported. After the original parliamentary poll in September, electoral authorities disqualified 24 early winners, including allies of the president, and threw out around a quarter of the five million votes cast. The attorney general's office later called for the results to be annulled, saying the vote was marred by massive fraud. Karzai has yet to endorse the outcome. 'Afghans indifferent' Haroun Mir, the deputy director of the Afghanistan Centre for Policy Studies in Kabul, told Al Jazeera that the president was in a difficult situation, because "he does not know how to satisfy the international community, the winners and the losers". "We are in a very difficult country, at any time we could have another crisis, which could lead to violence in Afghanistan, so everybody is very careful," he said. He warned, however, that the parliament had already lost the confidence of the people, before even having convened. "Unfortunately, this parliament has already lost credibility and legitimacy in the eyes of Afghans. The Afghan people in general are totally indifferent to what's going on in the ... parliament. It would be very difficult for them to regain the trust of Afghan people. | ||
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| Source: Al Jazeera and agencies |
Israel to issue 'flotilla report'
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| Contrary to UN report, Israeli-appointed commission is widely expected to exonerate military of wrongdoing in the raid. Last Modified: 23 Jan 2011 09:15 GMT | ||||
An Israeli-appointed commission said to be probing Israel's deadly raid on a flotilla of ships carrying aid to the besieged Gaza strip in May last year is expected to submit its findings on Sunday. The report, addressed to the Israeli prime minister and representing the findings of the Israeli-government commissioned panel, is widely expected to exonerate the country's military of any wrongdoing, and will be simultaneously submitted to a UN panel investigating the incident. However, such findings would contradict a UN-backed report issued last year. In September, a UN-appointed panel concluded that Israeli forces showed "incredible violence" during and after the raid on the flotilla that left eight Turkish activists and one Turkish-American killed. The UN probe added that there was "clear evidence to support prosecutions" against Israel for "wilful killing" and torture committed when its troops stormed the aid flotilla last May. Israel's military response to the flotilla "betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality" and violated international law "including international humanitarian and human rights law," the three-member panel said. "The conduct of the Israeli military and other personnel towards the flotilla passengers was not only disproportionate to the occasion but demonstrated levels of totally unnecessary and incredible violence." The commando raid on the group of aid ships prompting international criticism of Israel's actions and soured relations with several countries, particularly Turkey. Pro-Israel commission Israel established its own commission of inquiry after rejecting criticism that its troops had acted with excessive force in the raid. On Sunday, media reports indicated that the commission's first report was expected to clear the military of any wrongdoing, finding that Israeli commandos had shot in self-defence after being attacked by aid activists upon boarding their ships. The commission is also expected to uphold the legality of Israel's blockade of Gaza, which it imposed in June 2006 after Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier, was captured by Hamas fighters.
At least two of the commission's members openly defended Israel's actions during the raid while questioning some witnesses, particularly Israeli Arabs and human rights group representatives, according to the Jerusalem Post. According to a commission spokesman, in addition to examining the legality of the blockade, the first report also provides an assessment "of the actions taken by the [Israeli army] to enforce the naval blockade" and "an examination of the actions taken by the organisers of the flotilla and its participants and their identity". The inquiry commission, headed by Yaakov Turkel, a former supreme court judge, is also reportedly examining several other aspects of the raid, and is expected to release a second report at an as yet unspecified date. That report is expected to look at the mechanisms available for complaints about the raid. The commission has heard testimony from high-ranking Israeli officials, including Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Barak, the defence minister, and General Gabi Ashkenazi, the army chief. Giving testimony last year, Barak termed the flotilla a "planned provocation". He said that top officials had suspected that the aid convoy's organisers were "preparing for an armed conflict to embarrass Israel". "We regret any loss of life," he said, "but we would have lost more lives if we had behaved differently." The commission also heard the testimony of several people who were on board the aid ships. None of the soldiers who carried out the raid were authorised to provide their testimony. The commission was only authorised to speak to the army chief or Major-General Giora Eiland, who carried out the military's own investigation into the incident, on matters relating to the military's response. Commission members were authorised to submit questions to individual soldiers who participated in the raid only through a military committee. Other members of the commission include Shbati Rosenne, an international legal expert, retired Major-General Amos Horev, Miguel Deutch, a law professor at Tel Aviv University, Reuven Merhav, a former director-general of the foreign ministry. Rosenne, who was 93-years-old, died on September 21 last year, while hearings were ongoing, and was not replaced. The panel also had two foreign observers, Brigadier General Ken Watkin of Canada and Lord David Trimble of Northern Ireland, who were allowed to participate fully in the commission's activities, but were not allowed to vote on decisions. | ||||
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| Source: Al Jazeera and agencies |
Liberation caravan' heads to Tunis
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| Hundreds of demonstrators defy nighttime curfew to travel from Sidi Bouzid, where uprising began, to the capital. Last Modified: 23 Jan 2011 09:34 GMT | |||||
Hundreds of Tunisians have defied a nighttime curfew and travelled hundreds of kilometres in what they call a "Liberation Caravan" to join protesters in the country's capital, where anger at the interim government continues to grow. The protesters began marching on Saturday night from Menzel Bouzaiane, a small town in the same province as Sidi Bouzid - the site of the self-immolation suicide attempt that set off a month of protests and ultimately ousted former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The crowd walked on foot for about 50km before boarding busses to Tunis, where they arrived on Sunday and began assembling in front of the interior ministry - the site of many anti-government demonstrations. As more people continue to file into the capital from Sidi Bouzid, they are expected to begin demonstrating in front of the prime minister's office. Police join in protests On Saturday, thousands of demonstrators, including police officers, lawyers and students, again took to the streets of Tunis to protest At least 2,000 police officers participated, according to the Associated Press news agency. They were joined by members of the national guard and fire departments. Crowds gathered in front of the office of Mohamed Ghannouchi, the interim prime minister, and on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, the main street of Tunis. The rally was the latest in a month of turmoil that toppled Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia's longstanding ruler, sending him into exile in Saudi Arabia on January 14. While many demonstrators are continuing to demand the dissolution of the interim government, the police officers who have joined the protests are seeking better working conditions and an improvement in what they call an unfair media portrayal. Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri, reporting from Tunis, said that the police officers marched with protesters, wearing red armbands in solidarity with the marching crowds.
"They said they want to be with people now, they want to be part of the revolution," she said. "They no longer want to be persecuted - they say, 'Please don't blame us for the deaths of the protesters'." At the prime minister's office, Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra reported that protesters broke through barricades but no violence occurred there. He reported that the anti-riot squad pleaded with the crowd, saying: 'Do whatever you want to do but please don't storm the office of the prime minister. That is a red line." Masoud Romdhani, a trade union activist who was at the demonstration, told Al Jazeera that the protests must continue in order to oust entirely the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), the former ruling party. Many Tunisians are angry over the inclusion of several prominent members of Ben Ali's administration in the new interim cabinet. Romdhani said labour activists feel that "nothing is done" until the RCD is removed. Countering such criticism, Sami Zaoui, the Tunisian secretary for communication technologies, told Al Jazeera that "civil society" and opposition parties account for more than two-thirds of the transitional government. He also rejected the view that Ghannouchi was "in a difficult situation" and played down the ongoing protests as "very local demonstrations". "We cannot say that the entire country is currently demonstrating," Zaoui said. Dissolution demanded Thousands of protesters have been holding daily protests, demanding the dissolution of the interim administration, since Ben Ali fled earlier this month. In an effort to dampen the anger, Ghannouchi, who is a former ally of Ben Ali, pledged to quit politics after elections that he says will be held as soon as possible. In an interview on Tunisian television on Friday, Ghannouchi said he would leave power after a transition phase that leads to legislative and presidential elections "in the shortest possible timeframe." Despite resigning his RCD membership, he has been struggling to restore calm under a new multiparty government that the opposition complains retains too many members of the party. Fouad Mebazaa. the interim president, also resigned his RCD membership.
"My role is to bring my country out of this temporary phase and even if I am nominated I will refuse it and leave politics," Ghannouchi said. He did not specify when the elections would be held, though the constitution requires a presidential vote within 60 days. He said the elections must be a success "to show the world that our country has a civilisation". Ghannouchi also said that all of the assets held abroad by Ben Ali's regime had been frozen and would be returned to Tunisia after an investigation. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Tunis, said that Ghannouchi also announced that the state would provide compensation to those who died during the uprising, as well as their families. The army and the justice department have been ordered to preserve any documents and evidence that can be gathered during the unrest in order to investigate the old government, our correspondent said. The transitional government has also said that it would lift a ban on political groups, including the Islamist al-Nahda (Renaissance) party. The exiled leader of the formerly banned party, Rachid al-Ghannouchi, told Al Jazeera on Saturday that al-Nahda is democratic and should not be feared and rejected any comparison between him and Iran's late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "We are a moderate Islamic movement, a democratic movement based on democratic ideals in ... Islamic culture. Some people pull Khomeini's robe over me, while I am no Khomeini nor a Shia," he said. Mohamed Ghannouchi, the interim prime minister[(not related to Rachid al-Ghannouchi] has said that the Nahda leader cannot return to Tunisia until a 1991 prison sentence is lifted. | |||||
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| Source: Al Jazeera and agencies |
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Tunisia's interim prime minister promises free elections
- NEW: Interim Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi says he will leave politics after elections
- Tunisian government interrogates 33 from ousted president's entourage, official says
- All political parties applying for authorization "received positive reply," according to official TAP news agency
(CNN) -- Tunisia's interim prime minister said Friday that his country would hold its first free democratic elections since gaining independence, vowing to leave politics after those elections.
"We want to make the next elections the first transparent and legitimate elections since independence," Tunisian Interim Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi said Friday on state-run Tunis TV.
"After this transitional period -- with all honesty -- I will leave any political role I have even if I was selected or appointed," he said. "I will leave political life and retire."
Tunisia gained independence from France in 1956.
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Tunisian ripple effect in Jordan? 
Tunisian protests go on, police stand by 
Glimpse of normalcy in Tunisia 
Tunisia's ruling party is shunned Ghannouchi's remarks came in an interview with two independent journalists on Thursday that Tunis TV aired on Friday.
Ghannouchi spoke of coming political reforms that he said would "scrap all undemocratic laws including laws involving political parties, the elections, and the anti-terrorism law that was abused by the former regime."
"I lived like all Tunisians, in pain and fear," under former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali -- who was ousted in a rebellion a week ago -- Ghannouchi said.
Ghannouchi resigned from his ruling party this week and was appointed interim Prime Minister by the interim President Fouad Mebazaa.
Tunisia's new government is interrogating 33 people from Ben Ali's entourage, a top official said Friday, while 1,200 others who have "spread terror among the population and carried out unacceptable acts" have been arrested, according to state media.
Tunisia's Interior Minister Ahmed Friaa announced the arrests in a news conference, saying that "33 members of families close to the former president have been brought to justice and are now being interrogated."
"These people's jewels and huge sums of money in their possession have been seized," the country's official TAP news agency reported, citing Friaa, a holdover from the previous government.
In the interview that aired Friday, Ghannouchi said, "We have frozen their bank accounts and properties in the country," referring to assets belonging to families close to the former president.
"A judge was appointed to determine how to deal with their wealth," Ghannouchi said.
He said that the Tunisian government is trying to freeze money belonging to relatives of the former president and said that the money would eventually be returned to the Tunisian people.
CNN crew caught in Tunisia tear gas 
Gallery: Startling power shift in Tunisia Former presidential guard director Ali Seriati is among those being interrogated, Friaa said. Friaa also confirmed earlier reports that Imed Trabelsi, the nephew of the ousted president, is among those being interrogated.
The identities of those being questioned will not be released until "they are judged," TAP reported.
Some of the 1,200 people arrested by the new government have been released, Friaa said, while 382 others face charges such as carrying illegal firearms, looting and committing violence.
Friaa described those who'd been killed in Tunisia's recent uprising as "martyrs of the Revolution," according to TAP.
He said that all political parties that have applied to be officially authorized "had received positive reply," according to TAP, including the Green Tunisia Party, the Left Socialist Party and Tunisia's Patriotic and Democratic Labour Party.
Friaa also said that a new group called the Baath Party -- which appears to be an offshot of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's party -- had also applied for authorization.
Video from Tunis TV showed thousands of protesters in the capital, Tunis, for another day on Friday, calling the new government a sham and demanding that officials with connections to the old guard be fired.
On Thursday, Tunisia's new government announced it will recognize political groups banned under the regime of Ben Ali and grant amnesty to all political prisoners.
The Thursday announcement followed the first meeting of the new cabinet formed by the North African country's interim leaders as they and other former members of Ben Ali's ruling party tried to climb from under his shadow.
Ben Ali's Constitutional Democratic Rally's central committee was dissolved earlier Thursday, and all Cabinet members who once belonged to the party have quit it.
The party, known as the RCD, suffered a major blow earlier this week when Ghannouchi and interim President Mebazaa submitted their resignations from the party, though they remained in the government, Tunis TV reported.
Mebazaa has said he plans to sever "any link with the past," referring to the unpopular years of the former regime's authoritarian rule. His government is tasked with leading Tunisia toward new elections.
But for many Tunisians, the resignations and promises are not enough.
"The Tunisian people don't want this party, this dictatorial party," English teacher Mohammed Basha said. "We want a real revolution. We don't want any more lies, because we are fed up. Twenty-three years of lies."
Ben Ali ruled Tunisia for 23 years. The RCD initially formed a consensus government with the opposition, but protesters demanded that members of the old administration -- whom they called "leftovers" -- be swept out of power.
Ben Ali's ouster followed weeks of protests over what discontented Tunisians said were poor living conditions, high unemployment, government corruption and repression. They were sparked when Mohamed Bouazizi, an unemployed college graduate, set himself ablaze after police confiscated a fruit cart that was his source of income. He died early this month.
More than 100 people were killed in protests that followed over the past five weeks, according to the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The fatalities include victims of live fire, suicides and weekend prison riots.
The rallies in Tunisia, one of the Arab world's most secular countries, have ignited unrest elsewhere in the region, including Algeria and Egypt.
Report: Vote for Southern Sudan independence nearly unanimous
- Results bring largest nation in Africa closer to breaking into two
- Preliminary results show almost 99% voted for a split
- Sudan's north and south have been at war for two decades
- The conflict left 2 million people dead
(CNN) -- An overwhelming majority of Southern Sudanese voted to split from the north, new preliminary results show, bringing the largest nation in Africa closer to breaking into two.
The results, published Friday on the website of the commission that ran the referendum, show 98.6% voted for a split. The preliminary results are based on 83% of votes counted in the south and all votes from eligible southerners elsewhere, including overseas.
Southern Sudanese voters applauded the figures, the latest in a series of indications that secession would win by a wide margin.
Last week, election officials announced that the turnout had passed the threshold needed for the referendum to be valid.
Clooney tells why Sudan is his mission 
Southern Sudanese return home "Wow, just wow," said Marko Ayii, 25, a Southern Sudan native who lives in Atlanta. "We can't wait for the vote to become official so we can have parties to mark the separation."
The almost unanimous outcome is not surprising, said Deng Leuth, who lives in Atlanta.
"We fought for years; we have never lived in harmony ever since I was young," the 26-year-old said. "I doubt many people would have voted to stay together."
Leuth said he's looking forward to becoming a citizen of an independent state.
"People saying that we cannot survive without the north will be surprised," he said.
Preliminary results show voters in almost every state in the south voted to split by about 99%.
However, 42% of Southern Sudanese living in the north of the country voted for unity, according to the results.
--Southern Sudan native
Sudan's north and south have been at war for two decades in a conflict that killed 2 million people.
The referendum on whether to declare independence from the government based in the north is part of a 2005 peace agreement that helped end the conflict. The war pitted a government dominated by Arab Muslims in northern Sudan against black Christians or animists in the south.
A majority of Sudan's oil reserves are in the south, another flashpoint in the war.
Several million voters cast ballots, including expatriates in the United States and seven other countries.
Official results will be announced on February 14, according to the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission, which ran the referendum.
The south would become a new nation in July if the vote is validated and no other obstacles emerge.
EU diplomat 'disappointed' in nuclear talks with Iran
- Iran's negotiator says Iran's rights are not being respected
- Representative: P5+1 countries refused to accept preconditions
- Western officials say the first day of talks were contentious at times
- Iran insists its nuclear facilities are working for civilian energy needs
Istanbul (CNN) -- The European Union's top diplomat expressed disappointment at the conclusion of two days of talks with Iran about its controversial nuclear program, saying the six countries she represented refused to accept preconditions demanded by the Iranian delegation.
"We had hoped to embark on a discussion of practical ways forward," Catherine Ashton said at a press conference Saturday. "I am disappointed to say this had not been possible."
Ashton said the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Russia, China, France, the United States, and Britain -- and Germany, referred to as the P5+1, came to the negotiating table with an updated proposal for a nuclear fuel swap for Tehran's research reactor.
Two prior nuclear fuel swap deals have collapsed after previous rounds of negotiations.
Explainer: Enriching uranium into fuel 
Iran's nuclear program self-sufficient? 
U.S. fears Iran has long-range missile "We had hoped to have a detailed and constructive discussion of those ideas," Ashton said. "But it became clear the Iranian side was not ready for this unless we agreed to preconditions regarding enrichment and sanctions."
Ashton dismissed these preconditions, saying they were "not a way to proceed."
Moments after the European diplomat spoke to journalists, Iran's lead negotiator, Saeed Jalili, took the same podium.
The Iranian diplomat spoke at length in Farsi about "common logic" and the need for "respect between nations," avoiding mentioning the word "nuclear" for the first five minutes of his speech.
He sought to deflect criticism of Iran's nuclear program by pointing to the fact that countries like Israel wield nuclear arsenals but do not face sanctions from the U.N. Security Council.
Jalili also drew attention to the mysterious killings of two Iranian nuclear scientists in Iran last year, asking why the Security Council had not addressed the matter or widespread reports of foreign "cyber attacks" on Iran's nuclear program.
"We see an attack by terrorists against our scientists," Jalili said. "This is a fiasco on behalf of the Security Council. I think it has to be accountable to the international community for this."
Both sides concluded their remarks insisting that they are still open to further discussion of Iran's nuclear program.
Later, Jalili appeared on CNNI's "World Report," saying Iran is "ready for cooperation and talks."
However, he cautioned that "these talks should be within the context of respecting the nation's rights and putting aside ... hostile measures."
Tehran now appears to be facing a united front from the P5+1, which includes Russia and China, two countries that in the past defended Iran's right to nuclear technology.
During what appears to have at times been a contentious day of talks, Western officials said the Iranian delegation tested the unity of P5+1.
"She was very solid. She didn't fall into any of their traps," said a Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, about Ashton.
The diplomat claimed that Jalili "realized that the six are solid and that the six mean business."
Before the discussions even began in a 19th century Ottoman palace overlooking the waters of the Bospohorus Strait, Iran officials declared that they would not allow any discussion of suspending Iran's controversial uranium enrichment program.
And during a mid-day break on Friday that involved a trip across town to pray at Istanbul's famous Blue Mosque, a member of the Iranian delegation repeated this tough negotiating position.
"We will not allow any talks on the halt or suspension of uranium enrichment activities in Iran to be raised in the Istanbul talks," said Abolfazi Zohrehvand, a spokesman for Iran's Supreme National Security Council, according to Iran's Fars News Agency.
"There has been no word on enrichment at the talks at all and our country's nuclear rights have not been an issue on debate either," he added.
Another Western official says the P5+1 countries "summarily rejected" the Iranian delegations demands at the outset of the talks to establish "preconditions" which included accepting a full nuclear fuel cycle for Iran and the removal of sanctions.
Last year, the Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran as punishment for its "lack of compliance ... on ensuring the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme."
Iran insists its nuclear facilities are working to develop technology for civilian energy needs.
Analysts have wondered what Iran wants to accomplish with the talks.
"Iran wants to widen the nuclear discussions to disarmament and to the case of Israel, and does not appear to be willing to talk about the Iranian nuclear dossier which originally prompted the P5 plus 1 process," wrote Ollie Heinonen in an e-mail to CNN.
Until last August, Heinonen spent the last five years leading efforts at the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency to contain Iran's nuclear program.
"I really hope that the discussions continue in near future since slowing down of the enrichment program has created a window of opportunity which should not be missed," he added.
But another group that has been studying Iran's nuclear program accused Tehran of playing for time as it continues enriching uranium.
"Protracted talks are clearly in Tehran's interest," Ivanka Barzashka of the Federation of American Scientists wrote in an e-mail to CNN. "As it steadily chugs forward with its enrichment program, it increases its potential to build a nuclear bomb."
The Iranian government has repeatedly denied accusations that it is trying to develop nuclear weapons technology.
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