Tehran, August 19: A senior Iranian official said Tehran was ready for talks with the West on its disputed nuclear program based on mutual respect and without preconditions, state television reported on Tuesday.
U.S. President Barack Obama has given Iran until September to take up a six-power offer of talks on trade benefits if it shelves sensitive nuclear enrichment, or face harsher sanctions.
“Talks without preconditions is Iran’s main stance in negotiations on the nuclear issue,” Iran’s envoy to the U.N. nuclear agency watchdog, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, was quoted as saying by state television.
“Soltanieh announced Iran’s readiness to take part in any negotiations with the West based on mutual respect,” state television said.
Iranian officials have made similar statements in the past. But political turmoil in the Islamic state following its disputed June presidential election appeared to have dimmed prospects for dialogue on the nuclear row.
The West suspects Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Iran, the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter, says its program is aimed at peaceful power generation and has ruled out suspending or freezing its nuclear activities.
–Agencies