Iran and six world powers have agreed to hold talks on the Islamic republic's latest package of proposals concerning its nuclear programme Oct. 1, both sides said Monday.
E.U. foreign policy chief Javier Solana spoke by telephone with Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and they agreed that talks would be held Oct. 1 between Iran and representatives of the six powers, namely the U.K., China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S.
"Iran is ready for a serious dialogue in October," Jalili said.
"This morning we reached an agreement with the Iranians to hold a meeting on October 1," Solana's spokeswoman said.
She said the venue for the talks between Iran and the six governments was still to be decided.
Iran handed over its proposals to representatives of the six powers Wednesday.
They called for urgent talks with Tehran on the package after Washington expressed disappointment while Moscow was more upbeat about the proposals.
Earlier Monday, Iran said the package was aimed at allaying Western concerns about its intentions but reiterated that possessing nuclear technology was its "undeniable" right.
"It is obvious that the Iranian people will not negotiate about their undeniable nuclear rights," foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi told a news conference.
His comments echoed earlier statements by both supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
But Ghashghavi said the proposals were intended to allay Western fears that Iran is seeking to develop an atomic bomb under cover of its nuclear programme.
"As you saw, one of the objectives of the package is to certainly remove the concern about the nuclear issue by focusing on global disarmament and implementing a slogan that nuclear energy is for everyone, but atomic bomb for no one," he said when asked about the Western fears.
He said the issue of global nuclear disarmament could act as a "good basis for discussions" between Iran and the major powers.
The six governments have been pressing Iran to agree to suspend uranium enrichment, the process which produces nuclear fuel or, in highly extended form, the fissile core of an atomic bomb.
Iran has ignored repeated U.N. Security Council ultimatums to suspend the sensitive activity and has been slapped with three sets of U.N. sanctions.
The six powers had set a late September deadline for Tehran to begin negotiations or risk more sanctions.