TEHRAN, June 10: Iran said on Saturday it had started to study the West’s offer to resolve the nuclear crisis and could make counter-proposals through shuttle diplomacy, as Iraq mounted a mediation effort.

“We have opened the package, and we are studying it, and afterwards we will officially reply to the Europeans,” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying following talks with Palestinian counterpart Mahmud al-Zahar.

“We hope ... a shuttle diplomacy will be started for the Islamic republic’s proposals in the form of amendments or counter-proposals to be studied seriously by the Europeans,” he added.

“We are in favour of discussions which are fair, unbiased and without preconditions, that will result in an understanding satisfactory for all sides,” he said.

Asked if a suspension of uranium enrichment was raised in the international package, he said: “We cannot outline details of the proposals, since we have not announced the content of the package.”

Mr Mottaki gave no timing for Iran’s official response.

Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi met Iran’s top nuclear negotiator in Tehran in a bid to help mediate an end to the crisis, a source said.—AFP