Iran Likes Italian Nuclear Talks Approach

Iran’s nuclear negotiating team reportedly was impressed with talks this week in Rome with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, the ANSA news agency reported.

Ali Larijani, who resigned last weekend as Iran’s lead negotiator, accompanied his replacement, Said Jalili, to Rome for talks with Prodi and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.

Larijani said Prodi had a profound knowledge of international and regional problems and every time we have spoken to him we have benefited from his views.

Prodi reportedly urged the Iranian delegation to cooperate with the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, which is scheduled to report on Iran’s atomic activities to the U.N. Security Council next month.

Solana also praised Italy’s role in the talks, saying it is a very important country, also because of its links with the Middle East, the report said.

Iran denies international allegations it is on the road to producing nuclear weapons and claims it has a right to its own nuclear electricity program.