US, China agree Iran should respond positively to nuclear proposals -...

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The United States and China agree it is important for Tehran to respond positively to existing nuclear proposals by six major powers, US officials said ahead of a meeting on Thursday between Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany.

"Both the US and China believe that Iran should cooperate with the P5+1 and should respond positively to the proposals that are on the table," a US official said. He was referring to the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany, often referred to as the "P5+1".

The six powers said in February that they want Iran to stop enrichment of uranium to 20 percent, ship out some stockpiles and shutter a facility where such enrichment work is done. In return they offered relief on sanctions on Iran's petrochemicals and trade in gold and other precious metals.

In turn, Iran's new government, stepping up a campaign to project a more moderate image abroad, said on Wednesday it wants to jump-start talks with world powers to resolve a decade-long dispute over its nuclear program and hoped for a deal in three to six months.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is set to hold talks on the nuclear issue on Thursday with US Secretary of State John Kerry as well as diplomats from Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, in a rare encounter between top American and Iranian officials.

Earlier on Wednesday, Iran's foreign minister expressed hope for a quick resolution of the nuclear stand-off.

Speaking after a meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, he added: "The Islamic Republic has the political readiness and political will for serious negotiations and we are hopeful that the opposite side has this will as well."

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday cautiously embraced overtures from Rouhani, a new centrist president, as the basis for a possible nuclear deal and challenged him to take concrete steps toward resolving the issue.

Iran has been negotiating with the P5+1 since 2006 about its nuclear program, which Western powers and their allies suspect is aimed at developing a nuclear-weapons capability. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian energy purposes only.

REUTERS