TEHRAN, June 1: Iran on Thursday rejected US conditions for talks over its atomic programme, prompting a warning from Washington that it would seek UN action if Tehran formally refused to freeze sensitive nuclear work.

“We support dialogue in a fair and unbiased atmosphere, but we will not talk about our undeniable and legitimate rights, because this is the right of our people according to international laws and treaties,” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters.

“There is no obstacle to negotiate with the United States on an equal footing, with respect and without preconditions, since what is important for us is to secure our nuclear rights,” his spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi added.

Asked about Mottaki’s comments, US President George W. Bush replied: “We’ll see whether or not that is the firm decision of their government.”

“And if that’s what they decide to do, the next step, of course, will be for our coalition partners to go to the United Nations Security Council. And the choice is up to the Iranians,” Bush said.

In what has been regarded as a major policy shift, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced on Wednesday that Washington was ready to enter the European-led negotiations if Tehran suspended uranium enrichment — which can be extended to making the fissile core of a nuclear weapon.

Rice described the offer as a “kind of moment of truth for Iran.”

But Iran insists its activities are strictly peaceful and therefore enshrined as a “right” under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran’s refusal to halt enrichment, in line with UN Security Council and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) demands, leaves the country exposed to sanctions.

Officials from the United States, Europe, Russia and China meanwhile gathered in Vienna on Thursday to continue talks on a carrot-and-stick approach to the crisis — trade and other incentives if Iran complies and sanctions if it refuses.

BUSH REACTION: In Washington, US President George W. Bush warned on Thursday of UN Security Council action against Iran if Tehran formally refuses to freeze sensitive nuclear work, something Washington has made a condition for talks.

Asked about Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki’s comments refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, Bush replied: “We’ll see whether or not that is the firm decision of their government.”

“And if that’s what they decide to do, the next step, of course, will be for our coalition partners to go to the UN Security Council. And the choice is up to the Iranians,” the US president said.

Bush downplayed resistance from Russia and China to his harder line approach, saying that he had laid out the US approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday and received “a positive response.”—afp