Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili at a Moscow press conference on June 19. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP/GettyImages)

Over the last two months, Iran and six world powers have met three times – in Istanbul, Baghdad and Moscow -  to try and resolve the crisis over the Iranian nuclear programme. On all three occasions, little or no progress was made in resolving the dispute.

Indeed after the Moscow talks, negotiations have been downgraded to little more than a pledge to hold discussions between technical experts in early July – and possibly no more than that. So this is a time to take stock of what the diplomacy of the last few months has taught us – and whether it can avert a descent into military action. Read more

At least five Iranian scientists believed to have links to the country’s nuclear programme have been attacked in the past two years, four of them fatally.

Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes; western powers say Tehran is seeking to develop atomic weapons. Read more