The six countries negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program are meeting for fresh talks today in Brussels, as the threat of more punitive sanctions hangs over the dispute.
The meeting comes one day after U.S. President Barack Obama said Washington and its allies could soon have a package of measures against Iran for its failure to accept a UN-brokered deal to send enriched uranium abroad for processing into fuel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said Tehran was willing to discuss the reactor fuel deal, but only if the fuel is exchanged within Iran.
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said Iran would respond positively to a change in big powers' policy.
The so-called P5+1 includes the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States -- in addition to Germany.
Three rounds of UN sanctions have failed to force officials in Tehran to abandon sensitive nuclear work like uranium enrichment, which critics fear could contribute to a nuclear bomb-making capability.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, warned recently that actions by Iranian officials have "reduce[d] the level of confidence" in declarations coming from Tehran and raised concerns about possible covert nuclear sites.
compiled from wire reports
The meeting comes one day after U.S. President Barack Obama said Washington and its allies could soon have a package of measures against Iran for its failure to accept a UN-brokered deal to send enriched uranium abroad for processing into fuel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said Tehran was willing to discuss the reactor fuel deal, but only if the fuel is exchanged within Iran.
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said Iran would respond positively to a change in big powers' policy.
The so-called P5+1 includes the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States -- in addition to Germany.
Three rounds of UN sanctions have failed to force officials in Tehran to abandon sensitive nuclear work like uranium enrichment, which critics fear could contribute to a nuclear bomb-making capability.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, warned recently that actions by Iranian officials have "reduce[d] the level of confidence" in declarations coming from Tehran and raised concerns about possible covert nuclear sites.
compiled from wire reports