Special report: Iran Nuclear Crisis

    CAIRO, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Visiting top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said on Sunday that Iran welcomed constructive talks with no preconditions over its nuclear issue.

    Speaking at a news conference in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Larijani said that Iran was studying a proposal agreed by six world powers in a bid to solve the current standoff over Iran's disputed nuclear program.

    "Iran welcomes unconditional negotiations with no threats," he stressed, adding that Iran favored talks to solve problems.

    "In our view, the proper way for Islamic countries to surmount problems and challenges, is through harmony, consultation, dialogue and cooperation," he said.

    The top Iranian nuclear negotiator also reasserted that there were "some positive points and some vague points" in the six-nation proposal.

    The proposal boasted positive points, for example, an offer of nuclear reactors to Iran, said Larijani, who is also Secretary General of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council.

    When asked about what ambiguities were in the proposal, Larijani said that points in the offer concerning uranium enrichment needed "clarification in a transparent way."

    Larijani also noted that European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who presented Iran with the proposal last Tuesday, said that Iran had positively cooperated with him.

    Meanwhile, Larijani reiterated that the Iranian nuclear program was fully peaceful, which posed no danger to either Islamic or non-Islamic nations.

    Arriving in Cairo Saturday on a two-day visit, Larijani has met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa.

    Larijani said that he was pleased to hear Moussa saying that Arab countries should take measured steps toward reaching peaceful nuclear technologies.

    Moussa, for his part, said at the press conference that all countries that signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty had the right, under the fourth article of the agreement, to develop peaceful nuclear technology.

    He also said that Iran's stance was so far right as long as its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes.

    As for the new proposal, Moussa said that Iran was considering it and would issue its own proposal because Tehran was opposed to some points in the offer.

    Both the Cairo-based AL and Egypt maintain that Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear energy and that the Iranian nuclear dispute should be solved through peaceful means.

    But meanwhile, the league and Egypt have also voiced opposition to a nuclear-armed Iran.

    On Saturday, Moussa said in a press statement that the entire Middle East region must be free from any weapons of mass destruction.

    This applied to Iran, Israel or any other state in the region, said Moussa, adding that the issue involved all nuclear activities not only those of Iran.

    Israel, widely believed to be the only nuclear power in the region, has never admitted or denied having nuclear weapons.

    The EU-drafted proposal over Iran's nuclear issue, which was agreed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, includes both incentives aimed at persuading Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and possible sanctions if Iran chooses not to comply.

    Shortly after Iran was given the offer, Larijani expressed cautious optimism over the new package, saying "There were positive steps but also ambiguities."

    Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Saturday that Iran might make its own proposals, either in the form of amendments to the six-nation offer or a counter-package.

    The United States has accused Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons under a civilian front, a charge categorically denied by Tehran. Enditem