Iran says rifts persist after EU nuclear talks

BRUSSELS, July 11 (Reuters) Iran said today that differences persisted after crucial talks with the European Union on its nuclear programme and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana had been unable to answer all its questions.

A senior Iranian nuclear official told reporters an offer of incentives by the major powers lacked legal guarantees and more clarification was needed, despite Western demands for an immediate response to the package.

''One of the main problems of this proposal is that there are no clear legal guarantees,'' the aide said, speaking on condition of anonymity. ''During the meeting, all Iran's questions were not answered because they needed time and also maybe Solana was not in a position to answer some questions by himself.'' He also said the two sides continued to differ over whether Iran should suspend uranium enrichment, the key condition set by the major powers for starting negotiations on the incentives.

REUTERS PKS RN1957