Iran says ready for new talks on nuclear fuel

Iran said today it is ready for new talks on how to procure nuclear fuel for a Tehran research reactor and prepared to purchase the supplies from any world producer.

"We are ready for the next meeting regarding the supply of fuel for the Tehran research reactor," Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told the state IRNA news agency.

Soltanieh, speaking from Vienna where the agency is based, also said that Tehran was prepared to buy the fuel.

"We are ready to buy the fuel under the supervision of the agency from any producer as we bought this type of fuel from Argentina around 20 years ago with the cooperation of the agency."

He said Iran also wanted to discuss its "technical concerns" in a meeting, especially issues regarding "guarantees for the supply of the fuel as soon as possible under the supervision of the agency."