Iranian talks in Moscow to take place Monday

Iran has informed Russian officials it will send a delegation to Moscow on Monday for talks on Russia's offer to enrich uranium for Tehran, the Interfax news agency quoted a Russian Embassy official in the Iranian capital as saying Wednesday.

Photo: Iranian talks in Moscow to take place Monday

"The Iranian side has provided official notification about their arrival on the 20th and the Russian side has taken receipt of it," Interfax quoted the embassy official, Vyacheslav Moshkalo, as saying from Tehran.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it could not immediately confirm the information. On Monday, Tehran abruptly postponed talks scheduled for this week in the Russian capital on Moscow's uranium enrichment offer but a day later officials in Iran said they had requested a new date on Monday.

"I don't see anything extraordinary in this delay, there was a lot of fuss about nothing," said the Russian diplomat.

A leading Russian lawmaker, Konstantin Kosachev, warned Tuesday that time was running out for Iran to respond to the offer, which is meant to establish international oversight of Iran's nuclear fuel production and ensure it can't be misused to make weapons.

The world has long sought to stop Iran from enriching uranium, fearing that the process would bring it to the threshold of possessing nuclear bombs. On Feb. 4, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported Iran to the U.N. Security Council and called on its government to suspend all enrichment-related activities, reports the AP.

I.L.