New Iran Nuclear Talks Pending

United States and five other nations prepping for meeting

The United States and five other world powers are hastily preparing for possible new talks with Iran amid signs that the country's leaders might be willing to meet as early as next week to discuss scaling back nuclear activities in return for future relief from sanctions.

The six powers have agreed on a new package of inducements to be offered to Iran if it agrees to freeze key parts of its nuclear program, according to U.S. and European officials briefed on the matter. Iran rejected a similar deal earlier this year, but U.S. officials said they were modestly hopeful that the Tehran's position had softened under the strain of international sanctions.

"Our assessment is that it is possible that they are ready to make a deal," a senior administration official said Friday. "Certainly, the pressure is on."