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Iran has not received US offer for negotiations: spokesman

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Nov 12, IRNA
Iran-US-Spokesman
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said on Sunday Iran has not received any formal offer for negotiations on regional issues.

Speaking at his weekly press conference, Hossein made the remark in response to a reporter who asked about his comment on a proposal made by the British Prime Minister Tony Blair to the US President George W. Bush for direct talks with Iran and Syria.

"Different US officials are calling for negotiations with Iran and Syria with respect to the significant role Iran and Syria have in the Middle East. However, Iran will consider any offer for talks to be made by the US administration," he said.

He pointed to a report by the US former secretary of state James Baker recommending the Bush Administration to hold talks with Tehran, saying, "Currently, several analysts also put forward the same offer." Asked about topics of possible talks between Iran and the US, the spokesman added, "They had so far given preference to discuss how to restore law and order in Iraq. So, Iraq is on top of the agenda.

In response to a question whether the two cascades of centrifuges are currently active and 3,000 other centrifuges will join the fuel cycle by the year-end, Hosseini said, "For the time being, two cascades of 164 centrifuges are working at the Research and Development (R&D) stage.

"Some 3,000 centrifuges for the fuel cycle is a program which will be put into operation in line with the Safeguards Agreement of Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and under supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

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