Larijani to attend talks despite aid cuts

Vienna: Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani has left Tehran to attend a conference in Munich, Germany on Saturday to discuss Iran's nuclear work. He had earlier cancelled due to illness.

The announcement came as the UN nuclear agency said it has cut almost half of its aid projects in Iran to implement UN sanctions on the Islamic country over its nuclear programme.

The aid reduction will go for final approval during a March meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors.

"This is a substantial cut in the technical aid programme for Iran," said a senior UN official familiar with it. "It is a message of inducement to Iran to reconsider its course."

Iran was hit with sanctions over its failure to prove that its uranium enrichment is purely for civilian purposes. The West accuses Iran of secretly making nuclear weapons.

The existing UN resolution bans transfers of sensitive nuclear materials and know-how to Iran as well as IAEA aid.