Iran 'doesn't need permission for nuclear work'

KABUL, Tuesday (AFP, Reuters) - Iran is ready to discuss its nuclear programme with any country, but that does not mean it is asking for permission for access to nuclear technology, Iran's foreign minister said on Monday.

Iran's right to peaceful nuclear technology was supported by "many countries of the world", Manouchehr Mottaki told a news conference during a one-day visit to the Afghan capital, Kabul.

"We do not accept global nuclear 'apartheid' and scientific 'apartheid'," Mottaki said.

Iran was ready to discuss its programme. "But that does not mean that we are waiting for any country's permission for the the right of the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic to enjoy nuclear technology," he said.

Iran insists on its right to produce enriched uranium, vital for nuclear power plants or bombs, but swears its goal is solely to fuel an energy-hungry economy.

Meanwhile The European Union and Iran are to hold new nuclear talks on January 18, diplomats said, despite the West's strong doubts that Iran will back off from possibly atomic weapons-related activities.

It was the first confirmation of the date for a meeting that was announced on Wednesday.

EU negotiators Britain, France and Germany restarted talks Wednesday with Iran over Western concerns that Tehran seeks nuclear weapons and agreed to meet again in January.

But the two sides acknowledged that wide differences remained, with Iran insisting on its right to make nuclear fuel, and the West fearful that this could be used to manufacture atom bombs.

"The meeting will be on January 18 in Vienna," said a Middle Eastern diplomat close to the talks.

Earlier Russia repeated its offer to process uranium for Iran's controversial nuclear programme, a proposal Tehran has already rejected. Moscow's proposal to create "on Russian soil a joint Russo-Iranian undertaking to enrich uranium still stands," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said the suggestion had been put to the Iranian government on Saturday.

"This proposal represents Russia's contribution to the search for a solution acceptable to all in the context of the settling of the situation... by political and diplomatic methods," the statement said.

The Europe Union wants Iran to accept the Russian idea that enrichment operations should take place in Russia without the direct involvement of Iranian scientists.

Tehran has turned down both this offer and a "Libyan-style" compromise that it should renounce sensitive activities in exchange for various types of aid.

Russia is building Iran's first nuclear reactor.