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First day of talks with Iran's nuclear negotiator without result

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The first day of talks with Iran's top nuclear negotiator in Moscow has produced no breakthrough to ease tensions over the Islamic Republic's controversial nuclear program.
MOSCOW, November 10 (RIA Novosti) - The first day of talks with Iran's top nuclear negotiator in Moscow has produced no breakthrough to ease tensions over the Islamic Republic's controversial nuclear program.

Iran has been at the center of international concerns this year following its resumption of uranium enrichment, which some countries suspect is a covert nuclear weapons program.

But Ali Larijani, head of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, dismissed the suspicions and said his country is ready to receive inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"There is no place for nuclear weapons in our defense doctrine. We want to use our rights in the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and there will be no backtracking in this regard. But we are ready for talks," Larijani said.

The Islamic Republic may face tough UN Security Council sanctions as Britain, France and Germany - the EU-3 - have proposed a ban on sales of missile and nuclear technologies to the country, freezing its military bank accounts, and imposing visa restrictions on Iranian officials linked to the nuclear industry.

Larijani, who met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and held five-hour talks with Igor Ivanov, the Russian Security Council head, said the adoption of the UN Security Council resolution on the Iranian nuclear issue will not help resolve the issue, and will not help with a political settlement.

"If there are differences between the [involved] parties, then we are ready to resolve them through negotiations," Larijani said. "But those who support the adoption of the resolution want to aggravate the problems in the region."

Russia, which has consistently supported Iran's right to nuclear power under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and is building a $1 billion power plant in the country, has rejected the European draft resolution on Tehran, calling the proposed sanctions excessive.

Under the draft, the construction of Russia's Bushehr NPP in southern Iran would not be banned, but fuel supplies to the plant would be restricted, and Russia wants all references to the Bushehr nuclear power plant removed from the document. Moscow submitted its amendments last Friday.

Larijani hailed Moscow's efforts to soften the resolution. "If the UN Security Council adopts the draft resolution without Russia's amendments, and in violation of earlier agreements, it will affect Iran's relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency," he said.

He also said Tehran was still considering a proposal to form a joint venture to enrich Iran's uranium on Russian territory, which Moscow made earlier this year in an attempt to end the deadlock around Iran's nuclear program.

"Russia's offer to set up a joint venture to enrich uranium on its territory has always been and remains on the negotiating table. Discussions are continuing," he said.

Moscow and Tehran have conducted three rounds of talks on the joint venture that would cover Iran's nuclear fuel needs for its energy generating plants, but Tehran has not yet made a final decision.

Larijani said Tehran was willing to discuss its nuclear program in different formats. "We held talks with [EU foreign policy chief] Javier Solana. We can repeat this process or continue [talks] in any other format," he said.

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