(VOVworld) - Iran and the P5+1 Group, which comprises permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will hold a new round of talks in the middle of this month to seek a way to resolve the nuclear crisis in Tehran. Under pressure from both sides, the talks are expected to ease the current deadlock.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration proposed that Baghdad host this round of talks. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hosyar Zebari reiterated his readiness to host the event. Earlier, Iran and the West selected Istanbul as the venue for the talks.

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton

In the current context, observers have not seen any positive signs for the talks. The West, especially the US has continuously put pressure on Iraq to gain favors in the coming talks. On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton asked Iran to make specific commitments on Tehran’s nuclear program in the coming talks. Clinton said Washington would maintain pressure on the Iranian government, impose the most comprehensive sanctions yet to further isolate Iran from the international community. Last month, US President Barak Obama warned that Iran would not have much time to show its goodwill and solve current disputes with the West through diplomacy. Obama has agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran’s oil sector. The US will impose sanctions on banks and other financial institutions that buy oil from Iran and force companies around the world to decide between trading with the US and buying oil from Iran. China, the Republic of Korea, India, France, Spain, Greece and Italy are Iran’s major oil importers and they will likely face US sanctions unless they reduce oil imports from Iran. Washington’s ultimate goal is to squeeze Iran’s economy forcing it to give up its nuclear program. The UN has imposed 4 sanctions on Iran suspecting that the country is trying to produce nuclear weapons by developing uranium enrichment technology. The EU and some other countries are imposing sanctions on Iran’s banks, financial institutions and oil sector to force Iran to resume talks.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, General Massoud Jazayeri, Head of the Joint Chiefs of the Staff of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard threatened the US would not be safe from Tehran’s retaliation if it is attacked. Earlier, Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei accused the US and European allies of concealing their reasons for intervening in Iran- to control its huge oil reserves. The world is worried about Iran’s negative reactions. Earlier, the country shut the Hormuz strait, the key oil traffic route from the Gulf region to the rest of the world. Iran is currently the world’s 5^th largest oil exporter and the 2^nd biggest oil producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. In retaliation against the West, Iran will likely quit the world oil market causing in oil price hikes and affecting the recovery of the world economy.