Iran has proposed dates for new nuclear talks: US

(WASHINGTON) - Iran has formally proposed dates for new negotiations with the major powers over its nuclear program, the United States said Tuesday, adding it hoped to resume talks as early as this month.

EU chief diplomat Catherine Ashton, who has been spearheading the drive for a new round of negotiations, proposed last month that a first meeting should be held from November 15 to November 18 in the Austrian capital Vienna.

Ashton's office had notified the United States that it had received a formal response from Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters in Washington.

"Iran has proposed a couple of alternative dates," Crowley said. He did not specifying when exactly but said the United States hoped negotiations would begin "as early as the end of the month."

Nuclear talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 -- Britain, China, France, Russia, Germany and the United States -- have been deadlocked since October 2009 when the two sides met in Geneva.

"I would expect there would be consultations within the P5+1 in the next day or two," Crowley said, adding that Ashton and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would speak on the phone either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Iran said on Sunday that it wanted the talks to be held in Turkey, but Crowley suggested there could be multiple meetings and multiple venues.

"If we are successful in getting the process going, not just one meeting but a series of meetings and a serious engagement on the nuclear issue and other issues, we can envision that there would be many potential locations for this series of meetings."

Iran has insisted the talks be held on a package of proposals for global nuclear disarmament that it announced before negotiations broke down, but world powers insist the focus should be directly on its nuclear program.

The deadlock has already led to fresh UN and EU sanctions against Iran, which were followed by several other unilateral punitive measures by other nations, including the United States.

Western nations suspect Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing atomic weapons but Tehran insists it is strictly for civilian purposes.