Iran ready for unconditional nuclear talks

TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- In a seemingly positive surprise for Washington, a high-ranking Iranian official said Tehran was to talk to the West about its disputed nuclear enrichment program, according to state television on Tuesday.

Similar statements have been made in the past, but political unrest in this Islamic state in the aftermath of the June presidential elections has cast a pall over the prospects of such a dialogue.

On Tuesday, however, state television quoted Iran's envoy to the U.N. nuclear agency watchdog, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, as saying his country was ready for "talks without preconditions."

The same network stressed that "Soltanieh announced Iran's readiness to take part in any negotiations with the West based on mutual respect."

U.S. President Barack Obama has given Iran until September to agree to a package of trade benefits provided it scraps a sensitive nuclear enrichment program. The alternative, say U.S. officials, include harsher sanctions.

Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, insists its program is peaceful and within the framework of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

Still, Soltanieh's remarks on state television made no reference to the September deadline.

What's more, hours after state television reported Iran's willingness to engage in nuclear talks, the same network quoted Soltanieh as saying he had not given any interviews or made any comments in connection with the proposed nuclear talks.

The network did not elaborate where the initial report came from.

The United States has long accused Iran of using enrichment to build nuclear weapons. Tehran has ruled out freezing or suspending its activities, and it has yet to afford the Obama administration a direct response on its nuclear talks proposal.

June's turbulent presidential elections and subsequent divisions within the ruling elite and the population have shrouded Washington's stated aim of re-engagement with Iran.

Tuesday's remarks on nuclear talks overlap with U.S. assurances that Israel, the sole nuclear power in the Middle East, was far from mulling a military attack on Iran.

In an interview with CNN aired on Sunday, Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, rejected recent reports that Israel was likely to attack Iran's nuclear facilities in the near future.

"I think we are far from even contemplating such things right now," Oren said, endorsing the Obama administration's outreach policy to Tehran.

Iran last held nuclear talks with the United States, China, Russia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom in Geneva in July 2008. It is currently under limited U.N. sanctions concerning a raft of activities, including banking and trade, as well as travel bans against certain Iranians linked to the nuclear enrichment program.