5+1 group to resume talks with Iran

TEHRAN,March 7(MNA)--The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, known as 5+1 group, said Tuesday they have accepted an offer to resume talks with Tehran on the nuclear issue, AP reported. Responding to a February letter from Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in which he proposed new discussions, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called for dialogue that would deliver "real progress." Ashton is the contact for the group. The EU hopes that Iran "will now enter into a sustained process of constructive dialogue which will deliver real progress in resolving the international community's long-standing concerns on its nuclear program," Ashton's statement said. The time and venue of the talks have yet to be determined. Tehran says its nuclear program is designed chiefly to generate electricity. Ashton had written Jalili in October, offering Iran a new round of talks toward an agreement that "restores international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program."