U.S. sends envoy to Israel to brief on Iran talks

Haaretz - Straight after P5 +1 talks over Iran's nuclear program in Baghdad, the head of the U.S. negotiating team, Wendy Sherman, traveled to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his advisers on Friday.

Sherman will update Israeli officials on the talks in Baghdad, and on preparations for the third round of talks in Moscow on June 18 and 19.

Sherman, who is undersecretary of state for political affairs, will also discuss broader bilateral and regional issues with senior Israeli officials during her visit, the State Department said in a statement on Thursday.

Sherman will also "reaffirm our unshakable commitment to Israel's security," the statement said without mentioning the just-concluded Iran talks in Baghdad.

Israel regards Iran's nuclear aspirations as a threat given its calls for the demise of the Zionist regime and has hinted at a potential pre-emptive military strike.

Israel is widely assumed to have the only atomic arsenal in the Middle East.

Two days of negotiations made little headway in resolving main sticking points around the dispute over Iran's nuclear efforts, but the sides agreed to another meeting next month in Moscow.

Iran says it has the right to enrich uranium and that its nuclear aims are peaceful. But the United States and other powerful nations suspect the goal is a nuclear weapon.

Major powers have imposed sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors and insist Teheran halt enrichment activities before easing them. Iran wants the sanctions lifted before it would stop nuclear activities.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that there would be no let up in sanctions even as talks continue.