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Iran waiting for word on nuclear talks

TEHRAN, April 26 (UPI) -- The Iranian government is waiting for word from the international community on nuclear consultations, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency said they weren't able to verify whether Iran's nuclear program is entirely for peaceful purposes after visiting the country this year.

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Iran, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany have had two rounds of talks this year in Kazakhstan with few breakthroughs.

Salehi said the Iranian government was waiting to hear back from world powers on the results of consultations after talks in Kazakhstan, the semiofficial Fars News Agency reports.

Salehi said the Iranian government favored a policy of engagement over confrontation on the nuclear issue.

Iran maintains the right to nuclear research as a party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The government said recently it has no plans to enrich uranium to the 20 percent level, considered a threshold for a nuclear weapons program.

Director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Fereydoun Abbasi said last week that enrichment beyond 20 percent may be necessary, however, for "certain needs, for example, for some ships and submarines."

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