国际英语新闻：Ahmadinejad says Iran conditionally ready for talks with G5+1

TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran is ready to talk with the five permanent members of UN Security Council plus Germany (G5+1) over its nuclear energy program if preconditions were met, the official IRNA news agency said on Sunday.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly expressed readiness to hold talks. They (the G5+1) should also announce their views over the atomic bombs the Zionist regime of Israel possesses, Ahmadinejad said when addressing a crowd in Iran's northwestern city of Ardebil.

If westerners choose to maintain silence over these questions, it means that they are not committed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations, he was quoted as saying.

Ahmadinejad reiterated that the Iranian nation would not withdraw from its nuclear rights, according to the IRNA.

Elsewhere, Ahmadinejad said the West has no option but to talk with Iran over its nuclear program, the local satellite Press TV reported.

"Holding talks with Iran is the best choice for you (the West), " he said.

"They (the West) thought they can weaken the Iranian nation through imposing sanctions and posing threats, but the Iranians have shown integrity, convergence and strength," he said, adding talks between Iran and the West should be based on justice and mutual respect.

Dialogues between Iran and the six powers was halted last October.

In July, 2010, following the UN and the U.S. sanctions against Iran, foreign ministers of European Union (EU) countries endorsed tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, including measures to block oil and gas investment and curtail its refining and natural gas capability.

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki welcomed EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton's offer for the resumption of talks over Iran's nuclear energy program, according to Press TV.

Ashton on Thursday suggested a new round of talks with Iran in November in Vienna, capital of Austria.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said on Friday that "we have always said that dialogue is the only option," according to Press TV.

Ahead of the November meeting, Iran on Saturday set free American businessman Reza Taqavi, 71, who was held for more than two years in a prison in Tehran on suspicion of financing an Iranian opposition group Tondar of a 2008 bombing in Iran's southern city Shiraz.

Western countries have called on Tehran to halt its sensitive nuclear program but the country ruled out the calls and insisted that its nuclear activities are aimed at civilian purposes.