Iran will hold talks with major powers in Turkey over its disputed nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday, after earlier discussions failed to resolve the row. "I hope that this important issue will reach its final result in the (next) Istanbul talks," Ahmadinejad told a news conference in Istanbul, broadcast live on Iranian state television, without giving a date.
Iran's nuclear talks with major powers in January failed after the Islamic state refused to halt its uranium enrichment, as demanded by the United Nations Security Council. The United States and its European allies fear Iran is trying to build atomic bombs under cover of its nuclear programme. Tehran denies it, saying it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity. After talks with his European Union counterpart in Geneva in February, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said he hoped there would be further meetings, but no date was set.