DUBAI - The United States should hold confidential direct talks with Iran over its nuclear program but the West should not expect Iran's moderate new president to offer major concessions, a prominent think-tank said on Tuesday.
To try to give the talks a chance, however, Washington and other world powers should hold off imposing new sanctions on Iran, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report.
The Islamic Republic and six world powers - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, collectively dubbed the P5+1 - have held several rounds of talks but have yet to even approach a breakthrough.
But Washington should also set up a "direct, confidential" channel with Iran to complement negotiations with the P5+1 powers, the ICG said, and the talks also ought to encompass regional security issues other than the nuclear program.
