Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Switzerland and Kazakhstan have expressed their readiness to host the next round of the multifaceted talks between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers, Press TV reported.

The Iranian foreign minister added Iran and the P5+1 group were discussing resumption of the talks.

Salehi made the remarks during a press conference in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on the sidelines of the 20th African Union (AU) Summit on Sunday.

Last week, European Union deputy foreign policy chief Helga Schmid called for postponement of the next round of Iran-P5+1 talks until February, saying the six major world powers were not ready to negotiate with the Islamic Republic this month.

However, Iran insists on holding nuclear talks with world powers at the end of January, Fars news agency reported. It quoted Iran's deputy nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri as saying the talks had been set for January 28-29 and the six powers should be committed to the date.

Fars also said the office of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton informed Bagheri that the sextet was not ready for the talks and proposed a new date in February.

Tehran had opposed Istanbul as venue for the talks and instead proposed Cairo, but Egypt has shown no readiness to host the discussions.

Earlier, Minister Salehi said Egypt had welcomed Tehran's proposal for Cairo to host the next round of the talks between Iran and the P5+1 group.

Some observers believe the discussions over a date and venue are just a pretext and that the main problem is the agenda.

Iran wants acknowledgment of its rights to pursue a civil nuclear program and the lifting of all international sanctions to be on the agenda.

On the other hand, ahead of the nuclear talks Western media claimed "a massive explosion which has destroyed most of Iran's nuclear facility at Fordow."

"An explosion deep within Iran's Fordow nuclear facility has destroyed much of the installation and trapped about 240 personnel deep underground," the reports said.

But Iran denied the explosion in the Fordow enrichment facility, saying the claim of explosion is propaganda of the West on the occasion of Iran and P5+1 group's negotiations.

There has been no explosion in Fordow nuclear facility, the deputy head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Seyyed Shamseddin Barbroudi said on Sunday.

Iran and the P5+1 - comprising Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany - have held several rounds of talks with a focus on Iran's nuclear energy program. The last round of negotiations was held in Moscow in June 2012.

The United States, Israel and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

The six powers want to rein in Iran's uranium enrichment program to ensure it is geared only for civilian energy, through a mix of diplomacy and sanctions. Iran denies Western assertions it is seeking nuclear weapons capability.

Iran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down the West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment.

Tehran has dismissed the West's demands as politically tainted and illogical, stressing that sanctions and pressure merely consolidate the Iranians' national resolve to continue the path.