President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has hinted that after the upcoming talks with the Group 5+1 -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany -- in Turkey, Tehran plans to continue negotiations in Brazil and then in Tehran, Iran Daily reported.
"I hope during the talks in Istanbul, later in Brazil and then in Tehran we could reach a framework of cooperation... this is to everyone's benefit," he said in an interview with IRIB Saturday night.
"There were positive points in [Geneva] talks... I think it is time that their [G5+1's] confrontational policy turns into one of cooperation," he added.
Talks between Iran and the G5+1 broke-off in October 2009 following the group's failure to address Iran's concerns regarding a US-proposed nuclear fuel swap deal.
The deal called on Iran to send the bulk of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad in return for fuel for a medical reactor in Tehran.
Iran had demanded guarantees on the timely delivery of the fuel once the LEU had been shipped-out, but the West said Tehran should accept the deal as it is.
Following several calls by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and other Western leaders for fresh talks over the nuclear program, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili said talks would be held only on the basis of Tehran's proposals submitted to the group in September 2009 and based on conditions mentioned in his July 6 letter to Ashton.
The proposals include a wide-range of international issues.
Jalili in his letter to Ashton said whenever the direction of the talks is clear, Iran is ready to attend and help address issues of "international concern".
After a 14-month break the talks resumed in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 6 and 7.
Speaking in Geneva after the two-day talks, Ashton said it was agreed to hold the Istanbul talks to "discuss practical ideas and ways of cooperating towards a resolution of our core concerns about the nuclear issue".
Jalili, however, said both sides agreed only to further "talks based on cooperation" and that everything else was "not true".
The talks in Istanbul are slated for next month.
Despite reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency confirming no diversion towards a military nuclear program by the Islamic Republic, Western states claim Iran is secretly trying to develop a nuclear weapon. Under Washington's tutelage, western governments pushed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to pass four sanctions resolutions aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear activities.
In addition to the UNSC sanctions, the US, European Union, Australia, Canada and Japan have imposed their own unilateral penalties on Iran for refusing to stop enriching uranium.
Tehran has rejected the West's claims, saying its atomic activities are peaceful and in line with its rights under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Ahmadinejad said "Using the UNSC and economy as illegal leverage [against nations] is not right, particularly when dealing with a great nation like Iran."
"The nuclear program was an excuse and an opportunity for the West to curb Iran's progress," he declared.
He added that Western efforts aimed at preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear state had failed.
"The sanctions and resolutions were not effective... they turned into an opportunity and motivated the Iranian nation to give new momentum to the development process," he concluded.
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