An Iranian nuclear official says Tehran is ready for a conditional return to what he called "intrusive" nuclear inspections, but that uranium enrichment will continue.
Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told state television Saturday Tehran would allow short-notice inspections if the U.N. Security Council dropped the issue, returning the case to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran barred such inspections in February after being referred to the Security Council for possible sanctions over its nuclear activities.
In a report to the Council Friday, the IAEA said Tehran has not been forthcoming about nuclear activities Iran says are peaceful, but Western countries say are aimed at building atomic weapons.
The foreign ministers of the Security Council's five permanent members and Germany are scheduled to meet May 9 in New York to discuss Iran's nuclear program.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
