Khamenei Aide Says Baghdad Talks Will Not Resolve All Issues

May 23 talks in Baghdad between Iran and world powers on Tehran's nuclear program will likely not resolve all issues, an aide to Iran's supreme leader said on Monday.

But Gholam Ali Hadad Adel, a lawmaker who is a senior adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stressed that the powers on the other side of the table should lift their "illogical sanctions" at the meeting, the Mehr news agency reported.

"Iran expects the P5+1 group to put an end to the illogical sanctions in Baghdad, because the inefficiency of sanctions is proven even for Western leaders," he said, referring to the P5+1 grouping comprising the five veto-wielding U.N. Security Council permanent members plus Germany.

"They can show their goodwill through a trust-building effort by" lifting the sanctions, Hadad Adel said.

"Although one should not expect for all issues to be resolved in Baghdad, we can assume the (atmosphere) of the talks will follow in the footsteps of Istanbul," he said.

The Baghdad talks follow on from discussions revived April 13-14 in Istanbul after a 15-month deadlock.

While the Istanbul meeting managed to set a positive tone for talks to continue, the Baghdad round is seen as the first substantive meeting in which contentious issues will be broached.

The United States, which is leading Western economic sanctions against Iran, is reportedly floating a concession to allow Iran minimal enrichment of uranium -- previously a no-go option -- if the Islamic republic in return permits more invasive inspections of its nuclear activities.

Iran has sent signals suggesting it could negotiate over its medium-enriched uranium process, but officials have repeatedly said that the Western sanctions should be eased.

Tehran rejects Western accusations that it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability.

Iranian officials are to hold a separate meeting before Baghdad, on May 13-14, with representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency to address suspicions the U.N. nuclear watchdog has.