Iran ready to talk about nuclear program

BEIJING, March 29 (UPI) -- Iran is ready to resume negotiations with EU member states next month regarding a nuclear enrichment program, the Iranian foreign minister said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on the sidelines of a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Beijing that Tehran would discuss its nuclear program without preconditions.

"I would like to announce our readiness to restart immediately the negotiations with the EU 3 (Britain, France and Germany) to resolve the issue," he was quoted by China's official Xinhua news agency as saying.

Mottaki, however, said Iran wasn't ready to have direct talks with the United States because of what he described as "bad temperament."

"Iran might resume the direct talks over its nuclear program if Washington changed its behavior," he said.

Some governments have expressed concern that Iran is using its nuclear program as cover to develop a weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency has said there may be some military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program.

Tehran had said it was looking to Istanbul to host April 13 talks with the Europeans.

Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department deferred questions to the European Union.