Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran wants to allay concerns over its nuclear program, suspected of hiding efforts to build an atomic bomb, and resolve the impasse.
Zarif, a moderate whose ministry was tasked on Thursday by President Hassan Rouhani to handle Tehran's negotiations with world powers, said on Friday "there are two principles in the nuclear domain - first and foremost, respect for our rights in matters of nuclear technology, especially the enrichment of uranium.
"Following that is to allay international concerns" on the program.
Zarif's remarks came after a telephone conversation with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. She is chief negotiator for the P5+1 - the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany - who have been pressing Iran to stop enriching uranium.
Ashton called Zarif "following the news that the foreign ministry will be responsible for the nuclear negotiations," her spokesman Michael Mann said.
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"They agreed that they will meet in New York during the UN General Assembly," held later this month, Mann said.
In Luxembourg, one of the European Union's top courts on Friday annulled an EU asset freeze imposed on seven Iranian banks and other companies for their alleged involvement in the country's contested nuclear program.
The European Tribunal, second only to the European Court of Justice, said the EU had variously failed to prove or properly consider the evidence when imposing sanctions.
But it said its action would not have immediate effect and the sanctions will remain in place for two months and 10 days pending an EU appeal against its findings.
During this period, the EU can also adjust its case and formulate new sanctions, a statement added.
Uranium enrichment, which Iran insists is purely for peaceful purposes, can lead in more refined form to the production of the fissile core of a nuclear weapon.
"Allaying international concerns is in our interest because atomic weapons do not form part of the Islamic republic's policies," Zarif said.
"Consequently, our interest is to remove any ambiguity regarding our country's nuclear program."
Western countries and Israel suspect that Tehran's nuclear program is cover for a weapons drive, a charge it strongly denies.
Following his election in June, Rouhani expressed a desire to engage in serious, more transparent talks with world powers, but without abandoning Iran's "undeniable rights" in the nuclear field, particularly with respect to uranium enrichment.
