BEIJING, Aug. 10 -- International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei says he hopes the nuclear standoff between Iran and the international community will be resolved.

    ElBaradei made the comment at a meeting in Vienna on Tuesday ahead of the IAEA emergency meeting on Iran's nuclear issue. However,

    Iran defended its decision to resume nuclear work, saying its nuclear program is for civilian use.

    The IAEA's 35-nation board of governors meets Tuesday to assess Iran's latest moves, and diplomats said it was likely to issue a resolution by Thursday urging Tehran to again suspend its nuclear activities.

    Mohamed ElBaradei said he hoped that Iran's activity is simply a hiccup in the process and not a permanent rupture.

    IAEA chief Mohamed Elbaradei said, "This is clearly an issue that is being now negotiated here. I believe that the board will take a day or two before they come to a decision on that issue - the important thing for me at the end of the day is to go back to the negotiating process and to avoid any escalation of the situation which in my view is a lose, lose situation."

    Meanwhile France and Germany expect Iran to suspend its uranium conversion activities and come back to fresh negotiations to find a solution to the current nuclear standoff.

    However, Iran's defence minister said on Tuesday that Iran would rather submit to UN economic sanctions than back down on its nuclear program. Admiral Ali Shamkhani said that Tehran has not violated the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, which gives countries the right to pursue peaceful nuclear technology.

    (Source: cctv.com)