VIENNA, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Iranian experts and officials from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) discussed Tehran's plans to resume suspended nuclear-fuel research in a meeting here on Thursday.

    The meeting started on Thursday morning after Iran told the UN nuclear watchdog in a letter on Monday that it was planning to resume nuclear-fuel research, which was suspended two years ago.

    Iran's announcement sparked alarm in The West, which suspects that Iran is seeking to make atom bombs under the cover of civil nuclear program. But Iran insists that the program aim solely to generate electricity.

    IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei called for "clarifications" on Iran's announcement. A meeting was first planned for Wednesday but postponed.

    "There are meetings planned over the next couple of days, focused on clarifying the letter and in particular what does the resumption of research mean," said an unnamed official.

    ElBaradei said on Monday that the agency's board of governors hoped Iran could refrain from activities linked to uranium enrichment as a key confidence-building measure.

    Iran had suspended parts of its nuclear fuel program in 2003 during negotiations with Britain, France and Germany. The talks broke down in August, after Iran resumed uranium conversion activities in Isfahan in central Iran.

    This conversion is the first step in the process of making enriched uranium, which can produce both nuclear fuel and the fissile core of warheads. Enditem