Iran, EU start nuclear talks under pressure

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana (L) and Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani (R) gesture at each other during a press conference after talks at EU headquarters in Brussels yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

A cautiously upbeat Ali Larijani said there was "no reason to be pessimistic" at the talks, which also involved representatives from Britain, France, Germany and Russia.

Iran vowed yesterday not to cave in to international pressure, as its nuclear envoy Ari Larijani warned of a "long road" ahead before Tehran's atomic standoff with the West can be resolved.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised Iran would continue sensitive nuclear fuel cycle work and would not back down "one iota", even as Larijani held fresh talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on the high-stakes impasse.

But the United States and Britain warned of a return to the UN Security Council if the Islamic republic takes too long to respond to the offer of economic and political incentives for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment.

Iran maintains that it is developing nuclear energy, but its lack of cooperation with the UN's nuclear watchdog and enrichment activities have raised suspicions that it is covertly trying to build an atomic bomb.

Larijani, who has been in Europe since last week, insisted that Tehran will take as long as it needs to decide how to respond to the international offer.

"We have already stated our position. We don't usually speak before having reflected," he told journalists shortly before arriving at Solana's office in Brussels' EU district.

World powers want Iran to respond positively to the offer before a meeting of leaders of the Group of Eight major industrial powers starting in Saint Petersburg this weekend.

But Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has said Tehran will not respond before August, and a member of the Iranian delegation said Tuesday that "there is no deadline".

Arriving for their talks, Larijani was welcomed by Solana and, amid a swarm of bodyguards, both swept in without speaking to reporters.

Solana's spokeswoman said: "We want to move the process forward and for that we have to know what they think."