Tehran expects talks with EU to resume

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and the EU's Javier Solana met on the sidelines of the 43rd Munich security conference earlier in the month and agreed to resume talks, which were initiated to persuade the Islamic Republic to abandon its uranium enrichment program but which broke down in October, where they had been left off.

"We believe the parties' positions could be clarified during the talks to ensure Iran's legitimate right to peaceful nuclear technologies, on the one hand, and to sweep aside the other party's concerns [over Iran's possible deviation form the peaceful line], on the other hand," Manuchehr Mottaki said.

Iran's resumption of uranium enrichment in January 2006 has given rise to international suspicions that the country could be pursuing a nuclear weapons program, although Iran has consistently denied this.

The standoff caused by Iran's unwillingness to suspend nuclear research culminated in the United Nations Security Council adopting a resolution in December that imposed sanctions against Iran banning activities involving uranium enrichment, chemical reprocessing, heavy water-based projects, and the production of nuclear weapons delivery systems.

On February 23, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, is to deliver a report on the country's compliance with the sanctions.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini vehemently ruled out a halt to uranium enrichment last week, but said that Tehran was ready to consider fresh proposals on its nuclear program if the talks resumed. RIA Novosti