Iran has again ruled out halting its disputed nuclear activities, saying it will reject any incentives offered by world powers that violate the Islamic Republic's right to nuclear enrichment.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said Monday that the Iranian Government will not consider any proposals that would limit Tehran's access to atomic technology.
Hosseini's remarks follow Friday's announcement that the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia, and the U.S.) plus Germany had agreed to new incentives intended to persuade Iran to halt its enrichment program.
In June 2006, the six offered Iran economic aid and diplomatic incentives if it would drop its uranium enrichment program.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that that Iranian enrichment would have to be suspended during any talks.
The Security Council has imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to make nuclear weapons.
The United States and its Western allies accuse Iran of working to build a nuclear weapon. Iran says its atomic program is for peaceful purposes.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
