A  powder keg waiting to explode is the way many perceive the Mideast. The  events in the region could set off in many people's estimates a cascade  that could emesh the US of A in more military action.

One  of the most volatile countries in the Mideast is Iran. Iran's nuclear  ambitions has kept the world in turmoil. Currently talks are underway  between the Persian nation and other world powers on dealing with its  controversial nuclear program.

An  EU spokesman says six world powers have begun talks with Iran in Moscow  with an appeal for the Iranian side to "engage seriously" with an offer  to resolve international concerns about the Iranian nuclear program.

Michael  Mann said in a phone interview, the five permanent members of the U.N.  Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States)  plus Germany hope Iran "finally" will negotiate on the proposals they  made in the previous round of talks in Baghdad last month. EU foreign  policy chief Catherine Ashton is representing the world powers in the  talks, which resumed Monday in Moscow. The two sides have made little  progress since an April meeting that ended a 15-month break in  negotiations.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a German  newspaper that Iran may accept a compromise on enrichment. In excerpts  of the interview published Monday on his website, Ahmadinejad said that  if European nations provide Iran with 20 percent enriched fuel, his  government is ready to stop enrichment to that level.

http://voanews.com/content/six-powers-urge-iran-to-engage-seriously-in-moscow-nuclear-talks/1212306.html

Diplomats  from several nations meeting with Iran in Moscow depict the talks as  significant. They say it could be the last in a series and that, if  negotiators fail to make headway in persuading Tehran to stop  higher-grade uranium enrichment, it's unclear if or when new talks would  occur.

While not budging on lifting existing sanctions or those  already decided upon, diplomats familiar with the talks told The  Associated Press the six are also prepared to guarantee that no new U.N.  penalties will be enacted if Tehran shows enough compromise. The  diplomats demanded anonymity because that possible offer has not yet  been formally made.

For Iran, the main demand is international  recognition of its right to enrich and related issues. Although it is  under U.N. Security Council sanctions for refusing to stop that activity  because of concerns it could use it to arm nuclear missiles, Tehran  insists it has a right to do so to for its stated goal of creating  reactor fuel and medical isotopes.

Washington has warned Tehran of the alternatives should it not be willing to meet the six powers' demands.

"The window for diplomacy is not indefinite," a senior U.S administration official told the AP.

Such warnings are not new but this carry more weight than before both for Iran and its negotiating partners.

Iran would be most immediately hurt by a lack of progress in Moscow followed by any long hiatus in new negotiations.

In  addition to longer-term U.N. and other sanctions, Tehran is now being  squeezed by a widening international embargo on its oil sales, which  make up more than 90 percent of its foreign currency earnings. It  desperately needs those sanctions lifted, but the six say it needs to  make the first move on cutting back on uranium enrichment.

The White House also stands to lose.

Failed  talks at Moscow with no immediate prospect of new meetings would almost  certainly expose President Barack Obama to criticism of weakness in  dealing with Iran from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney  Faeuro" and from Israel, which has threatened to attack the Islamic  Republic's nuclear installations should diplomacy fail.

It is  unclear if the Jewish state would actually make good on such a threat  and, if so, when. But any military move would likely draw in the U.S.,  widen the conflict through much of the Mideast and further hobble  countries already in economic tailspin by driving oil prices sky-high.

http://cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57455031/diplomats-voice-optimism-as-iran-nuclear-talks-resume-in-moscow/

Negotiators for Iran and six world powers completed the first day of discussions on Iran's nuclear program Monday in Moscow.

This  third round of talks, called after two previous rounds of discussions  yielded little result, was marked by "serious and constructive"  discussions, Iran's semi-official FARS News Agency quoted Deputy Chief  Negotiator Ali Baqeri as saying.

An EU official described the meeting as an "intense and tough exchange of views."

http://cnn.com/2012/06/18/world/meast/iran-nuclear-talks/

From the Cornfield, the US of A presidential election may very well be decided on what happens in The Mideast.