Asefi: Iran to respond to Europe's proposal by next month

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said that talks between Secretary of Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, and EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana is just a preliminary talk, adding that Iran will respond to Europe's proposal by August.

Asefi made the remark while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the inaugural ceremony of the 9th meeting of foreign ministers of Iraq's neighboring states plus Egypt and Bahrain.

Asefi's remark was in response to a news report released by the Agence France Presse quoting Larijani in Brussels that, "Iran's preliminary response to the proposal of the 5+1 group will be expected on Tuesday."

Larijani said on Friday that any pressure for a speedy reply leads to doubts as to whether the offer is intended to produce a solution to the issue as "any offer would require enough time for the other side to respond."

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said "This may be interpreted that Iran will declare its views on the ambiguities of the proposed package of incentives."