TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said here on Monday that EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani have agreed that talks on Tehran’s nuclear program should continue.

“In their meeting last week, Larijani and Solana reached a general agreement that the talks should continue from where they were left off,” Mottaki told a press conference after meeting Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf bin Alawi Abdullah.

“We believe that during negotiations ways can be found to both restore Iran’s right and allay concerns,” he added. Various countries especially Japan have supported the idea of resuming talks to reach a favorable solution, he noted, adding that if “political interference in negotiations is stopped it is highly probable that talks will bear fruit.”

Positive reaction to Rice’s statement

He also said that recent remarks made by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the importance of revising U.S. policies toward Iran were “positive” and are being studied by Tehran.

Iran will announce its position on Rice’s remarks after receiving further details.

Mottaki went on to say that in his talks with the Omani foreign minister they discussed bilateral relations, regional developments, and efforts needed to help promote regional peace and stability.

“We had a good discussion on the establishment of joint companies to invest in both countries... and on the exportation of gas to Oman.

“We also talked about regional cooperation,” he noted, adding that Iran and Oman have decided that the idea of Iran’s economic cooperation with the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) to which Oman is a member should be pursued.

For his part, Abdullah said that Muscat is determined to continue its long-standing policy of strengthening ties with Tehran.

He added it is clear that Iran’s nuclear program is for civilian purposes.

“Iran is in compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and we trust in Iran,” he said.

All the U.S. efforts to depict the Islamic Republic as a threat to regional countries are aimed at piling more political pressure on Iran but this cannot cut the PGCC members states’ relations with Iran.