Iran, EU 3 agree on nuke talks

2005-11-28 17:57

Tehran - Iran and Britain, France and Germany have agreed to resume talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme, but no time or venue for the discussions have been set, reported student news agency ISNA.

"The agenda, time and venue of the talks is not set yet, but both sides will first hold the talks on the experts' level, then on the higher level," said Hossein Entezami, spokesperson for Iran's supreme national security council.

He was responding to an offer by the European Union 3 to resume direct talks with the Islamic republic on its nuclear programme.

Washington accuses Iran of using it as a cover for nuclear weapons development, charges vehemently rejected by Tehran.

Entezami said: "It does not make any difference whether the talks are official or unofficial, the important thing is to talk. However, the talks should have a time frame."

On Sunday, a diplomat said the foreign ministers of the EU-3 had written to Iran's top national security official, Ali Larijani, with an offer of new direct talks on Iran.

'No force' can stop enrichment

According to the semi-official Mehr news agency on Sunday, the letter was handed to Javad Vaidi - one of Iran's negotiating team - in response to a letter from Larijani which called for a resumption of negotiations.

Entezami reaffirmed Tehran's insistance that it would enrich uranium on Iranian soil, saying it had not received any proposals from Russia on moving its enrichment facilities abroad.

Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said at a press conference during a visit to Azerbaijan on Monday that Tehran had a right to enrich uranium as part of its nuclear energy programme, saying "no force" could stop it from doing so.

"The enrichment of uranium is Iran's internal affair. It is the right of any state and no force can prevent the state from exercising this right." he said.

- AFP