Tehran Agrees To Talk Again On Nuclear Dispute

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says Iran has agreed to hold talks at the end of August on the country’s nuclear program.

Ashton said in a statement that Iran's main nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, agreed in phone talks on August 2 that the Persian Gulf country would "talk again after further reflection at the end of the month."

Ashton did not specify whether these would be face-to-face talks.

The planned telephone call on August 2 followed face-to-face talks between the pair's respective deputies in Istanbul last week.

Six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, represented by Ashton -- have sought through economic sanctions and diplomacy to persuade Iran to scale back its nuclear program.

They have failed to reach a breakthrough in three rounds of talks since April.

Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and dpa