"We do hope that the talks being held between Iran and the EU3 over Tehran's nuclear programs would produce positive results", the UN's International Atomic energy Agency (IAEA) spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said at a press conference in the Vienna-based agency.

Iran will be on the agenda of the IAEA in 2005, he noted, adding "We do hope that the agency could be assured of Iran's peaceful nuclear activities."

IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei said earlier that Iran had suspended activities related to enriching uranium, except for 20 centrifuge machines on which it wanted to conduct research without using nuclear material.

The IAEA has been investigating Iran's atomic program for over two years.

An Iranian diplomat with the IAEA said on Wednesday that the next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the European Union will begin within next weeks in a European country, probably in Switzerland.

The two sides are satisfied with the result of the earlier talks and have made progress, he added.

He also refuted the claim made by Associated Press that the talks had reached a dead-end, saying "the claim is unfounded baseless. Both sides have made achievements in the talks."

The EU big three including Germany, France and Britain have been negotiating with Tehran on its nuclear program.

The latest round of talks between Iran and the European Union's "big three" -- the EU3 -- were held earlier this month in Geneva, Switzerland.

... Payvand News - 1/28/05 ... --