Iran 'open to nuclear talks'

Iran's president has said he is open to talks with Western powers on his country's nuclear programme, as he inaugurated the country's first nuclear fuel production plant.Speaking at a ceremony in the central city of Isfahan on Iran's National Nuclear Technology Day on Thursday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was open to negotiations based on "justice and respect"."In the management of the nuclear part of the world we would like to take part actively ... with logic and with law," Ahmadinejad said, referring to recent moves by Barack Obama, the US president, that suggest the US is open to dialogue with Iran over its nuclear project.But Ahmadinejad also accused the West of using the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a "mask of peace to confront [Iran] and stop its advancement"."Negotiations in an atmosphere of threat are not something that any free person would accept. The Iranian nation has always been ready for negotiations," he said.