Iran says always ready for nuclear talks

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today said that Iran was ''opposed to any proliferation'' of nuclear weapons and was always ready to talk about its nuclear program.

The United Nations has imposed sanctions banning transfers of nuclear technology and expertise to Iran. Tehran says its nuclear program is aimed only at electricity production, while the United States suspects the goal is nuclear weapons.

''We are opposed to any proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons,'' Ahmadinejad said in an interview in Tehran with US television network ABC.

''We are always ready to talk within the framework of regulations and as long as the rights of the human nation are safeguarded.'' Tensions between Tehran and Washington are also running high, as the United States accuses Iran of supplying Shi'ite militants in Iraq with sophisticated weapons that have killed US troops.

REUTERS DKA VV1842