Iran on Sunday rejected Western calls for a suspension of its sensitive nuclear activities just days ahead of crucial talks on its atomic drive with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana "Halting uranium enrichment is definitely deleted from the literature of Iran's nuclear activities," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters.
"In our negotiations the halting of this activity has not been on the table and going back on time is not envisaged," he added. A suspension of enrichment - a process that can be used both to make nuclear fuel and atomic weapons - has been the key demand of Western powers and main sticking point for opening negotiations over the nuclear programme.
The comments come ahead of eagerly awaited talks on Wednesday at a location that has yet to be confirmed between Solana and Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, in a bid to break the deadlock in the nuclear stand-off.
The pair, who held several rounds of discussions last year which failed to find a solution to the crisis, last met face-to-face for informal talks on the sidelines of the Munich security conference on February 11.
It remains to be seen what result can come out of the new meeting, given Iran's insistence on enriching uranium and the EU position that Tehran must freeze the process before full negotiations can begin.