TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran reiterated on Sunday that it was not afraid of its nuclear case being referred to the UN Security Council, saying talks are the only solution to the current standoff.

    "The referral of nuclear file to the Security Council is not scary at all for Iran, and it does not have any legal basis, " Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi told reporters. He said Iran had not violated any international conventions or regulations and strictly limited its nuclear activities within the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations.

    "So, there is no reason for exerting pressure on Iran," Asefi said, adding negotiations are the only solution that can secure Iran's legal right and disperse EU concerns on Iran's nuclear program.

    President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that Tehran would never give in under pressure to halt its nuclear research work even if its nuclear file was referred.

    Majlis (parliament) Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said on Sunday that the government "is duty-bound to put an end to its voluntary cooperation" if the file went to the United Nations. Since Iran defiantly resumed its nuclear research work on Jan.9, the EU and the United States have been calling for turning over Iran's case to the Security Council, a move aimed at pressing Iran to halt its research activities.

    The European Union and the United States have called on an IAEA Board of Governors' meeting to vote on the referral of Iran's case. Officials from the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany are scheduled to hold a meeting in London on Monday to discuss the emergency meeting. Enditem