Prior to the 23-24 May nuclear talks in Baghdad between Iran and the P5+1 (the US, Russia, China, the UK, France and Germany), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano visited Tehran on 21 May and came away sounding unusually hopeful, saying the next day that "a decision was made to conclude and sign" an inspection agreement, and "I can say it will be signed quite soon."

The Americans' reaction to this announcement, while wary, also contained positive language, with White House spokesman Jay Carney saying on 22 May that "promises are one thing, actions and fulfillments of obligations are another. The announcement today is a step forward. It's an agreement in principle. It represents a step in the right direction." This positive atmosphere seems to have carried over into the first day of the Baghdad meetings, since a "senior US official" was quoted as saying on 23 May that the talks showed a "fair amount of disagreement," but "I believe we have the beginning of negotiation."

A similarly guarded assessment of the situation from both sides of the table was evident after a second day of negotiations ended on 24 May with agreement to meet again in Moscow on 18-19 June.  The head of the P5+1 delegation, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, issued a statement  saying that "having held in-depth discussions with our Iranian counterparts over two days - both in full plenary sessions and bilaterals – it is clear that we both want to make progress, and that there is some common ground. However, significant differences remain." Iran's chief negotiator, Saeed Jalili, for his part, told a press conference that "talks were intensive and long. They were detailed, but are left unfinished. The atmosphere of these talks was positive for the two sides to talk about their issues in a clear way. We believe the result of these talks was that we were able to get to know each other's views better and more."

Although at MEES press time there had been no official reaction from Israel, it is unlikely in the extreme that the less than clear-cut result of the Baghdad talks would be welcomed by the Israelis, who would clearly like the negotiations to break down completely or result in a credible Iranian commitment not to study physics beyond high school level. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was therefore only acting preemptively when she told reporters on 24 May that "as we lay the groundwork for these talks, we will keep up the pressure as part of our dual track approach. All of our sanctions will remain in place and continue to move forward during this period."  Yet even Mrs Clinton had to admit that although "it's very clear that there is a lot of work still to do…yet, at the same time, I have to say that this is the second of two serious meetings after a gap of at least 15 months where there was no contact and no discussion about any of these matters."  It was little wonder that on the same day the State Department announced that Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman would fly to Israel the next day to discuss bilateral and regional issues and would "reaffirm our unshakable commitment to Israel's security."