'Iran wants direct nuclear programme talks with US'

Washington, May 24 : Iran is making explicit requests for direct talks on its nuclear program, The Washington Post reported, citing U.S. officials, Iranian analysts and foreign diplomats.

Senior Iranian officials have asked intermediaries to make clear to Washington their appetite for direct talks, the newspaper said yesterday.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, was among those approached to carry the message, the newspaper said, citing several diplomats and Saeed Laylaz, an analyst in Tehran and former government official.

According to the report, Iranian officials also made requests through Indonesia, Kuwait and U N Secretary General Kofi Annan to convey their interest to Washington.

''This is a sign of changing strategy. They realise the situation is dangerous and they should not waste time, that they should reach out,'' Laylaz told The Washington Post.

A State Department spokeswoman, Nancy Beck, said there would be no immediate comment on the Post's story.

The White House has dismissed calls for direct talks with Iran to resolve the stand-off over its nuclear program.

Iran insists it wants only to produce energy for civilian use, but Western powers led by the United States, Britain, France and Germany argue it is using a civilian nuclear program as a cover for producing the highly enriched uranium needed for atomic bombs.

ElBaradei yesterday arrived in Washington for talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, intelligence chief John Negroponte and top U S senators.

Officials from the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France were meeting in London yesterday to try to draft an offer of incentives to Tehran if it agrees to curb its nuclear ambitions, twinned with disincentives should it fail to do so.

Iran's overture follows a letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to President George W. Bush earlier this month. Bush dismissed the letter, saying it did not address the nuclear issue.

Reuters

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