Iran Agrees to New Nuclear Talks

With U.S. and five other countries

Iran has formally agreed to a new round of nuclear talks with the United States and five other world powers, European Union officials confirmed Tuesday, setting the stage for a critical effort to stave off a military confrontation in the Persian Gulf.

E.U. and Iranian officials signed off on a Feb. 26 meeting in the former Kazakh capital of Almaty, ending months of haggling over where and when negotiations would take place. Iran agreed in principle to new talks two months ago, but diplomatic progress appeared to falter amid a fierce internal debate among Iranian leaders over whether to accept limits on the country's nuclear program.