President of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi of Iran delivers a speech at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General conference on September 14, 2009 in Vienna. (Samuel Kubani/AFP/Getty Images)
"There is no room to bargain on (our) sovereign right but once it comes to discussions, everybody is free to pose any questions they wish," Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's nuclear energy agency, told reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. atomic agency's annual meeting of 150 member states.
Iran and world powers seeking to resolve a standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear program will start talks on Oct. 1, in what a senior U.S. official described earlier on Monday as an "important first step."
Salehi said Iran favored unconditional dialogue and "it seems the environment now is conducive... We are hopeful that the dialogue that will be held next month will pave the way further for the future," Salehi added, speaking in English.
The Islamic Republic last week handed over a package of proposals to the world powers in which it said it was willing to discuss global nuclear disarmament as well as other international issues in wide-ranging talks.
The document did not mention Iran's own uranium enrichment program, under U.N. nuclear watchdog scrutiny due to past secrecy and continued curbs on inspections, and Iranian officials made clear it would not be up for negotiation.
"We have to differentiate between our sovereign rights. No country really bargains on its sovereign rights ... we believe that nuclear technology, the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear energy is our sovereign right," said Salehi.
"But this does not mean that within a larger framework discussing nuclear issues - disarmament, peaceful uses of nuclear energy, non-proliferation—these are all issues which are of concern to everybody internationally."
Asked whether it was possible Iran would engage in any discussion with the powers related to its own nuclear program, he replied: "As long as that right (to a sovereign nuclear program) is respected, then there is no problem."
