Date set for Iran nuclear talks

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TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Iranian officials have agreed on a date for the next round of negotiations over the country's nuclear program with the Group 5+1, officials said Tuesday.

The talks would be the first high-level negotiations about Iran's nuclear program since June discussions in Moscow, Fars News Agency reported.

"Iran's proposals for the time and venue of negotiations were announced to the G5+1 [the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany] last week and Helga Schmitt, the deputy of EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton, had a phone contact with Ali Baqeri, the deputy of [Iran's top negotiator] Saeed Jalili, last night and they reached an agreement on the time of the negotiations," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said.

Mehman-Parast declined to provide the specific date of the talks.

Earlier this month, Jalili said negotiations would resume later in January.

"We have accepted that these talks should be held in January ... but till now the details have not been finalized," he said.

The United States and its Western allies have accused Iran of working toward developing nuclear weapons and has called for them to cease uranium enrichment, Fars News Agency reported. The U.N. Security Council has imposed four rounds of sanctions against Iran because Iran says it will not give up enrichment, which it insists is being done for peaceful purposes only.