Iran, EU To Hold Nuclear Talks Next Week

Iran's Supreme chief negotiator, Ali Larijani (left), and the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Tehran in June (Fars) September 20, 2006 -- Iran says the country's chief negotiator on nuclear matters, Ali Larijani, and the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, will meet next week to discuss Iran's nuclear activities.

The two sides held talks earlier this month to discuss an offer made by the UN Security Council's five permanent members plus Germany aimed at resolving the longstanding standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

Iran's Official News Agency (IRNA) reports that Larijani and Solana agreed in a telephone conversation to hold more talks next week in an unspecified European capital.

Solana and Larijani were due to meet on September 14, but that meeting was postponed.

The United States is pressing for sanctions after Iran ignored an August 31 Security Council deadline to suspend enrichment of uranium.

The West suspects Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a claim that Iran rejects.

French President Jacques Chirac said on September 19 that "dialogue must prevail" in the dispute over Iran's nuclear program.

(IRNA, AFP)