Khamenei warning as Iran nuclear talks start

World powers and Iran kicked off talks late today aimed at reaching a landmark nuclear deal as Tehran's supreme leader vowed there would be no retreat from "red lines".
The first plenary session in Geneva lasted less than 10 minutes. Diplomats however downplayed the significance of the unexpected briefness of the initial meeting, as more detailed discussions are expected tomorrow.
A senior US official said the first meeting was "meant in many ways as a kick-off, to lay a quick basis for how we go forward." Another diplomat called it a "brief introductory session".
But comments from the supreme leader earlier today indicated that this week's round of talks -- the third since Hassan Rouhani's election as president in June raised hopes of a deal -- may not be easy.

In an anti-Israel diatribe that France said would "complicate" the Geneva negotiations, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: "I insist on not retreating one step from the rights of the Iranian nation."
Iran's lead negotiator Abbas Araqchi said meanwhile that "the lost confidence must be regained", in reference to the last round of talks 10 days ago in Geneva when divisions emerged among the powers.
The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, known as the P5+1, want Iran to suspend certain parts of its nuclear programme for a period of several months in a "first phase".
A longer-term agreement would then be hammered out in the meantime that would reduce Iran's programme to a size acceptable to the international community.