Tehran - There have been no changes in Iran's position regarding its nuclear programme, an Iranian government spokesman said Saturday. Iran on Friday replied to the latest incentive package of the United Nations veto powers plus Germany (5+1) to European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Brussels. No details have yet been disclosed about the reply.
Solana is also scheduled to meet Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeid Jalili in mid-July, Iranian media reported.
ISNA news agency quoted spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham as saying that talks with the 5+1 would only be held on the basis of respecting Iran's rights.
It was unclear whether Elham was referring to the reply to the package or to Iran's general stance in the nuclear dispute.
There have been no comments yet on the reply by the main officials in charge of the nuclear issue, such as Jalili, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
State television reported that Jalili on Saturday met with several Grand Ayatollahs in the religious city of Qom and briefed them on the latest developments in the nuclear dispute.
The Grand Ayatollahs, including Makarem Shirazi and Safi Golpayegani, unanimously stressed Iran's legitimate rights in the nuclear case.
Realizing legitimate rights is the standard phrase in Iran and means that there should be no compromise to world powers' demands to suspend the nuclear projects, including uranium enrichment.