Tehran: Iran said yesterday it would not accept any "preconditions" for fresh international talks over its disputed nuclear programme, implicitly rejecting demands that the Islamic republic suspend sensitive uranium enrichment work.
"Dialogue must be without preconditions, because any precondition limits the framework of the dialogue and does not allow results to be achieved," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.
"The Islamic republic of Iran will not give up its rights. One cannot fix preconditions to hold negotiations without taking into account the position of the other party," he added.
Direct talks ruled out
A suspension of enrichment is a non-negotiable precondition in a proposal from the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany.
Meanwhile Tehran dismissed suggestions for direct talks on Iraq between Iran and the United States.
An Iranian Foreign Ministry official said yesterday that direct talks were impossible after an influential Iraqi politician encouraged Tehran to take part in discussions.
On Saturday, Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), a key Shiite party closely allied to Iran, said in Tehran such direct talks could benefit both Tehran and Baghdad. However, he told reporters he was not an intermediary carrying messages from the United States.
Abdullah to visit Iran for talks
UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan will visit Iran next month as part of a regional tour for talks on several issues, including the row over Iran's nuclear programme.
Shaikh Abdullah noted that the date of the visit to Iran has not yet been set. He said the visit comes as a continuation of his Gulf tour earlier, the Arabic-language newspaper Al Khaleej quoted the minister as saying.
The planned trip comes in response to two visits by the Iranian foreign minister and the advisor to national security, he added.
The Iranian nuclear file and the issue of the three Emirati islands, are on the agenda of the talks, which also include other topics, including, economic issues and fishermen's problems between us and Iran, Shaikh Abdullah said.
