Iran’s dispute with the international community over its nuclear programme remains deadlocked. For the last two years, the world’s major powers have offered Iran a package of economic and political incentives to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, a programme which some western powers believe is ultimately aimed at producing a nuclear bomb. But Iran’s position – that it wants to go on with uranium enrichment and is interested only in producing civil nuclear energy – remains unchanged.

Still, there are indications that the Iranian regime is thinking harder about the international offer. Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator will this month meet Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief, to try to break the stalemate. There is no guarantee that the meeting will end in success. But the Iranians have not yet given a definitive “No” to the west’s package.