The European Union is still waiting for Iran to formally reply to an offer of incentives designed to convince Tehran to stop its nuclear programme, Javier Solana, the bloc's foreign policy chief, said Thursday.
"For the moment there has not been any reply," Solana said in Brussels, adding that he was nevertheless "looking forward to hearing from them."
Earlier Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tehran was ready to negotiate over the package. But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country would not be bullied into suspending its uranium enrichment programme, reported dpa.
Solana offered Iran a series of incentives on behalf of the EU, Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Russia, United States, Britain, France, China) during a visit to Iran over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the EU is still considering whether to impose new sanctions on Iran, as request by the United States.