Iran has proposed Cairo as the venue for the next nuclear talks with world powers, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Wednesday.
"When I was in Egypt ... it was suggested that the next meeting be held in Cairo," Salehi was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students' News Agency.
"This issue was welcomed by our dear friends in Egypt and Egypt will consult with the P5+1 (group of countries) for hosting this meeting."
Holding the talks in Egypt could indicate warming ties between Cairo and Tehran, two of the Middle East's most influential countries.
After decades of frozen relations, the two countries are inching closer following the ouster of former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak.
Salehi visited Cairo for talks with President Muhammad Mursi on Jan. 10.
There was no immediate comment from EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represents world powers in dealings with Tehran.
The last talks between Iran and the P5+1 - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany - were held in Moscow in June but failed to resolve the nuclear standoff.
Both Iran and P5+1 say they want to resume talks. However, the two sides' priorities diverge: the P5+1 wants Iran halt its nuclear enrichment, while Iran wants sanctions scrapped and to have its "right" to enrich uranium formally recognized.
Western diplomats and Iranian media have said talks might take place next week, but that the venue had not been agreed.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and Ashton and their deputies have been in discussions in recent weeks to restart the talks after the last round ended in stalemate in Moscow last June.
Salehi rejected media claims about Iran’s dissatisfaction with Turkey’s hosting of the talks, stating that “Turkey made great efforts as the previous host of the negotiations and held them in a very good manner”.
The foreign minister said other countries would also like to host the talks, adding Jalili has come to the conclusion that it is better for the negotiations to be held in different countries.
The six-nation group wants Iran to halt its 20% level of uranium enrichment, close down its underground Fordo enrichment site and ship out its higher-grade stockpile.
Iran says it will never give up its right to enrich uranium but has indicated it may be willing to suspend the 20% level enrichment in return for specific concessions from the West, such as lifting the sanctions.
Meanwhile, experts from the UN's nuclear agency visited Tehran earlier this month to agree on a "structured approach" for cooperation.
On Wednesday, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the outcome of nuclear talks in Tehran would depend on the agency's realism.
“The success of the upcoming negotiations about Iran’s nuclear program depends on the agency’s adaptation to realities,” Ali Asghar Soltanieh told IRNA.
“In our previous meetings, some differences were settled, but there are still issues which we still insist upon,” he added.
Soltanieh stated that the next round of Iran-IAEA talks are scheduled to be held on February 12 or 13.
“We have announced that we will have another meeting and if considerations and expectations pertaining to our national security are incorporated in the agenda of the negotiations we would be ready to finalize them and remove ambiguities,” Soltanieh added.
“These negotiations need to be held with high precision because they deal with state security. Furthermore, they are held within a framework different from routine inspections conducted under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),” he noted.
Soltanieh said that Iran should be also assured that its nuclear case will be closed in the end because “it is one of the principles we have always underscored”.