Iran has invited representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency and six international mediators to visit its nuclear facilities, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday.
Mehmanparast was quoted by the IRNA news agency as saying that Iran's invitation prior to an end-of-January meeting in Turkey shows the transparent and peaceful nature of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
The West, led by the United States, suspects Tehran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program, which Iran strongly denies, insisting that it needs atomic energy solely for civilian purposes. Iran is currently under four sets of UN sanctions over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.
The Iran Six, which comprises Russia, the United States, China, Britain, France and Germany, has been trying since 2003 to convince Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program and to alleviate concerns about its nuclear ambitions.
A regular round of talks on Tehran's nuclear program ended December 7 in Geneva. An agreement was reached that the consultations will be resumed in Istanbul in late January.
MOSCOW, January 4 (RIA Novosti)
