Iran says ready to negotiate nuclear proposals

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki renewed on Saturday Iran's readiness for negotiations over its nuclear proposals but made no direct response to calls from the major powers for urgent talks.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki renewed on Saturday Iran's readiness for negotiations over its nuclear proposals but made no direct response to calls from the major powers for urgent talks.

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"By giving this package, the Islamic Republic of Iran has shown its determination to enter into negotiation on the main topics in the package," Mottaki told reporters in Tehran.

"I think that if one takes into account separate statements made by these powers, they acknowledge that our
package has major topics for holding constructive negotiations," he said.

"This can be the basis of negotiations... we hope that they (the six world powers) address our package seriously,
deeply and analytically."

Iran handed over its new proposals for allaying Western concerns over its nuclear programme on Wednesday.

A US non-profit investigative journalism group, Pro Publica, said on Thursday it obtained a copy of proposals in
which Tehran said it was prepared to hold "comprehensive, all-encompassing and constructive negotiations."

The talks would address nuclear disarmament as well as a global framework for the use of "clean nuclear energy,"
according to the document published on Pro Publica's website, but it did not address Iran's own nuclear programme.