The Foreign Minister of Iran has said the Islamic republic would not object to Washington joining talks with the European Union over its nuclear programme as long as the United States treated Tehran with respect.
Britain, France and Germany began talks in Brussels yesterday with Iran aimed at brokering a long-term agreement over Tehran's nuclear activities, which Washington says are geared to building atomic arms.
Iran says its nuclear facilities will only be used to generate electricity.
Iran's Foreign Minister Kamam Kharrazi on US invovlement in Iran/EU talks on Iran's nuclear programme
Washington has so far given only lukewarm backing to the Iran-EU talks, with several officials hinting they expect talks to fail to halt Iran's atomic ambitions.
This approach prompted seven former foreign ministers, led by ex-secretary of state Madeleine Albright, to argue in a newspaper article yesterday that Washington must throw its weight behind the talks if they are to succeed.
Asked about the proposal, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said: "There is no reason not to negotiate with others if they observe mutual respect and equality, like we are doing with Europe."
"Our condition for negotiating with America is that they negotiate with us based on principles of mutual respect and equality and not to impose their viewpoints," he said.