It also insisted that the upcoming talks might not happen if the two sides fail to agree on the agenda.

"Under no condition will we discuss the issue of fuel swap in our meeting with the 5+1 group," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency, referring to Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany.

His remark comes ahead of the talks that the six powers have proposed could start on November 15 in Vienna.

These talks are aimed at allaying Western concerns that Iran is making weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme, a charge Tehran denies.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mehmanparast told AFP the fuel-swap issue is separate from the overall atomic programme.

"If the complete independence of both these issues is not respected, then it will create obstacles in follow-ups," Mehmanparast said.

There has been no report so far of a separate meeting between Iran and the so-called Vienna group -- France, Russia and the United States and the UN atomic watchdog to discuss the fuel swap.

On October 18, Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi, without elaborating, had said Tehran was "ready to hold simultaneous talks with the 5+1 and the Vienna group about the fuel swap."

The idea of swapping nuclear fuel was first discussed in October 2009, and the Vienna group forwarded a proposal to Iran, which rejected it.

Brazil and Turkey brokered a modified agreement in May, but the world powers rejected it, arguing that it failed to take into account additional uranium enriched by Tehran.

In the past few days, the Western media reported that Washington was preparing a set of new proposals for Iran that include a fuel swap. However, the reports did not say if they would be discussed at the 5+1-Iran talks.

Last week, French daily Le Monde said Washington's offer would include transferring 2,000 kilogrammes (4,400 pounds) of Tehran's low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia for producing fuel to operate Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, which was built by Moscow.

The report further said the United States plans to propose shifting the 30 kilogrammes of 20 percent enriched uranium that Tehran currently has out of the country.

Mehmanparast said these reports about new proposals were "trivial and ... would not bring us closer to real negotiations."

Mehmanparast added that "as long as there is no agreement on the agenda of the talks, there will be no negotiation." He said a "good basis for talks could be Iran's proposals" made ahead of the previous round of talks in October 2009.

"But if the other side has fresh proposals, they should discuss them with Iran soon so that the two sides can reach a common framework," he added.

The date, venue and agenda for the talks has still be decided, although Iran has said it is ready to conduct the dialogue in Turkey.

European Union chief diplomat Catherine Ashton, who spearheads the negotiation on behalf of the world powers, proposed last month that they be held starting in Vienna from November 15.

Iran called for them to be held after November 10 and highlighted three conditions -- that the talks be based on "engagement and cooperation," that world powers not resort to threats and pressure and that the issue of Israel's nuclear arsenal be up for discussion.

In Washington, US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Ashton's office had "indicated to us that Iran has in fact responded" to her invitation.

Tehran "has sent a formal response. Iran has proposed a couple of alternative dates," Crowley said, without naming the dates.

Iranian state television said chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili has proposed to Ashton in a letter on Tuesday a date and venue for the talks.

Ashton confirmed that she had received the letter, and said a formal response would come once certain details had been discussed.

"I can confirm receipt of the letter. We will now discuss the details and proposals with our... partners and respond to Dr Jalili in the coming days," a spokeswoman for Ashton said.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News