TEHRAN, July 9 (RIA Novosti) - Tehran believes talks on its controversial nuclear program with the so called Iran Six of international mediators will begin in the next few days, a high-ranking Iranian official said on Wednesday.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana handed Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki a package of new incentives from the Iran Six - China, France, Russia, the United States, Germany and Britain - on June 14. The proposals offer political, security and trade benefits to Iran in exchange for suspending its nuclear program.
"The West has agreed to begin talks with Iran since it is the best and most logical way to resolve the problem. The talks will begin in the next few days and a lot of uncertainties will be cleared up," the vice president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Saeedi, said.
Meanwhile, Iran's news agency Fars reported that Solana is expected to visit Tehran on July 19 to discuss Iran's response to the proposed incentives and to meet with Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili.
Iran is currently under three sets of relatively mild UN Security Council sanctions for defying international demands to halt uranium enrichment, which it says it needs purely for electricity generation despite Western accusations that the program is geared toward weapon production.
Iran maintains that it has never been involved in research into the development of nuclear weapons.
