Khamenei's advisor says 'Iran ready for talks with US'

New York, Aug 10 (ANI): Ali Akbar Velayati, the adviser to the Islamic republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said that Iran is ready to discuss its nuclear program with the United States.

"While we do not have any faith in the American government... Iran is ready for talks on its nuclear program," The New York Post quoted Velayati, as saying.

"Iran has reservations about the composition of the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany) but remains committed to resolving the problem through dialogue," he added.

Last week Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had said that he is ready for face-to-face talks with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on "global issues."

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton assured that Washington remains "open to engagement" with Iran provided Tehran "reassures the international community by words and actions as to what their nuclear program is intended for."

On June 9, 2010, the Security Council backed a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Iran in an effort to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. The sanctions were followed by unilateral punitive measures imposed by the United States and the European Union.

Washington and other world powers suspect that Iran is masking a weapons drive under the guise of a civilian atomic program.

However, Tehran has maintained that its nuclear program has no military aims. (ANI)