Since Iran resumed uranium enrichment in January 2006, the country has been the focus of international concerns, as some Western countries, particularly the U.S., suspect Tehran is pursuing a covert weapons program. But Tehran has consistently claimed it needs nuclear power for civilian power generation and is fully entitled to its own nuclear program.
Iranian news agency IRNA reported from London quoting U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns as saying that the venue of a meeting between Ali Larijani and Javier Solana is not known yet.
The first round of their talks this year to settle the crisis took place in Ankara April 25-26, when the sides noted certain progress and agreed to hold talks in two weeks.
The UN Security Council passed a new resolution on Iran March 24 over its refusal to abandon its nuclear program, toughening economic sanctions against the country and accepting the possibility of a military solution to the crisis.
But in defiance of international efforts, Iran announced in April it had started production of nuclear fuel on an industrial scale, and voiced its determination to defend a legitimate right to possess nuclear program.
High-ranking Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have repeatedly stated that Iran would not discuss shutting down its uranium enrichment program even if discussions with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany are resumed.
Ahmadinejad confirmed Wednesday that his country intends to fully exercise its rights in the nuclear sphere and will not back down "a jot" under pressure from the international community.
"The world should know that today Iran has become one of the countries that had mastered industrial-scale production of nuclear fuel, and we intend to exercise our rights in the nuclear sphere in full," the Iranian leader told the residents of the Kerman province.
He said mastering civilian nuclear power is a goal supported by all Iranians, and that they will not give up their legitimate rights.
