Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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April 9, 2009

Iran to Decide on Nuclear Talk Offer
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=23774BF:A6F02AD83191E16074DEB22F4F7AB19FC030207A0BD70133&
 
Aide to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Tehran will decide how to
respond after it examines details of offer 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (file photo)An aide to Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad says Tehran will review the offer of nuclear talks made by
the United States and five other world powers. The aide, Ali Akbar
Javanfekr, said Thursday that Iran will decide how to respond after it
examines the details of the offer. Senior diplomats of the five
permanent Security Council member states: U.S., Russia, China, France
and Britain and Germany met in London Wednesday and said they would ask
European Union chief diplomat Javier Solana to invite Iran to a meeting
soon to seek a diplomatic solution to the "critical" nuclear issue. In
their statement, the nations strongly urged Iran "to engage seriously
with all of us in a spirit of mutual respect." U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton said the United States will be a full participant in
major power talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear program. She said
"pursuing very careful engagement" on a range of issues makes sense,
adding that there is "nothing more important" than trying to convince
Iran to cease its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon. The United States
does not normally engage with Iran, but President Barack Obama has
indicated a willingness to open dialogue. Iranian media has reported
that Mr. Ahmadinejad is expected to announce a new stage in the
country's nuclear fuel production abilities as it celebrates "National
Nuclear Day" later Thursday. The U.N.'s atomic agency has not been able
to determine whether Iran's Arak heavy water nuclear reactor, which
Tehran says is designed for peaceful research, can be reconfigured for
military use. Mr. Ahmadinejad repeated Wednesday that Iran is not
seeking a nuclear weapon. Iran is under three sets of international
sanctions over its nuclear program, including its enrichment of uranium.
Low-grade enriched uranium is needed to operate nuclear power plants.
The element must be enriched to a higher grade to be used for weaponry.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

 


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