End N-programme, Rice tells Iran

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said Washington was ready to hold direct negotiations with Tehran if Iran suspended its nuclear programme that the Islamic Republic vows to continue.

'I am prepared to meet my counterpart or an Iranian representative at any time if Iran will suspend its enrichment and reprocessing activities,' Rice said in the course of a talk show on Fox News on Sunday.

Maintaining that the US and its allies are still leaving the door open for diplomacy, Rice reiterated that Iran will have to stop its nuclear programme before negotiations can begin. 'They don't need a reverse gear. They need a stop button. They need to stop enriching and reprocessing, and then we can sit down and talk about whatever is on Iran's mind,' Rice said.

Making it clear that if Tehran cleans up its act then any and every thing will be discussed by the US, the Secretary of State said: "We're leaving open the track of negotiations because the best way to resolve this would be to have Iran come to the table.'

However, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has compared his nation's nuclear drive to a train without a reverse gear or brakes. 'We have dismantled the rear gear and brakes of the train and threw them away sometime ago,' he was quoted on the radio telling Islamic clerics on Sunday while insisting that it's nuclear programme is peaceful.

Rice contended that Ahmadinejad's stand was isolating Iran. "People in Iran are concerned about the fact that financial institutions are moving out of Iran and refusing to deal with Iran," Rice said.

In addition to the nuclear impasse, the US has also accused Tehran of supporting terrorism. "Iran also has other activities that it needs to stop. It needs to stop its support for terrorism in places like Lebanon and in the Middle East more broadly," Rice said.

US Vice President Dick Cheney on a trip to Australia last week said Washington had all options on the table to deter Tehran from pursuing its nuclear ambitions.

The International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday said Iran had ignored a UN Security Council ultimatum to freeze its uranium enrichment programme and had expanded the programme by setting up hundreds of centrifuges.