Iran ready to talk to anyone but Israel

NUSA DUA, (Indonesia): Iran is ready to hold dialogue with any country except Israel but not under the threat of force, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday ahead of talks next week on the country's nuclear programme.

"If they want to resort to the use of force we will not go into dialogue with them," he told journalists attending the Developing Eight summit in Nusa Dua, Indonesia.

Ahmadinejad declared: "We are ready to hold dialogue with all countries of the world except for the Israeli regime."

Speaking at a news conference after a summit of eight Muslim-majority nations, he said the letter he sent earlier this month to US President George W Bush was not related to Iran's nuclear programme.

Tehran would abide by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the International Atomic Enery Agency in cooperating with other countries, he said. Ahmadinejad added that there was no reason for anyone to be nervous about Iran's nuclear plans, adding that "all of them know 100 percent that the nuclear programme in Iran is totally peaceful."