Iran on Sunday posed an open and easy-going stance to show willingness to solve the country's nuclear issue through negotiations, but voiced uncompromising position to press ahead with its uranium enrichment program in defiance of Europe's warning.

"Iran has decided to negotiate with the European trio (of France, Germany and Britain) for one more time upon their request, and the coming meeting will be their last chance, " Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said.

Asefi defined the decision as a considerate grant to meet appeals from Spain, South Africa, Malaysia, Russia and some other countries.

The spokesman specially touched on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's phone conversation with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani on Saturday, during which Annan called for further negotiations between Iran and the EU.

However, Asefi ruled out the possibility that the EU could persuade Iran to stop its enrichment program, saying "no matter there is an agreement or not, we will resume some enrichment activities."

"We will not give up our rights and will carry out our activities under the related regulations," he stressed.

The current sensitive impasse on Iran's nuclear case came after Tehran, impatient of the "prolonged negotiations", in late April announced an immediate resumption of some suspended uranium enrichment activities.

Iran froze its enrichment activities on Nov. 22 last year in exchange for EU's promised economic and technological incentives after the two sides reached an indeed fragile agreement in Paris.

Following Tehran's self-defined "voluntary and temporary" suspension, the two side held several rounds of talks, during which the EU turned down Tehran's proposal of keeping restricted enrichment activities while providing other guarantees of the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.

Iran blamed the EU rejection for the failed negotiations in an attempt to further rationalize its declared resumption.

"We have resorted to negotiations to achieve our rights and put forward our proposals on transparent nuclear activities, but the Europeans misunderstood them and we found negotiations fruitless," Asefi said.

Iran's threat of resumption was immediately confronted with Europe and Washington's resolute warnings of the so-called "serious consequences", which British Prime Minister Tony Blair elaborated as referral of Iran's case to the UN Security Council.

The United States has accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons, but Iran rejected the charge as politically motivated.

Tehran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and it will never give up its rights on nuclear energy.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said that Tehran is not worried at all about the referral of Iran's case to the UN Security Council, stressing that the move will hurt the European countries in the first place.

What is more, the hardline Iranian Majlis (Parliament) on Sunday completed the legislative procedure of a bill aimed to press the cabinet to resume enrichment activities.

The bill, though setting no timetable, urges the government to adopt measures to help the country get access to peaceful nuclear technology.

Meanwhile, Majlis Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel equated defending the right for pursuing nuclear technology with defending the country's independence.

Seemingly as a conclusion, Rowhani later clearly stated that Iran was ready to continue negotiations with Europe but would not compromise on the threatened resumption.

"Iran's decision to resume activities in uranium conversion facility still holds," he said.

Rowhani's comments softened what had been soft but hardened what had been hard in Iran's nuclear policy, a last try aimed at extracting a last-minute concession from the EU and secure a possibility of withdrawal.

Source: Xinhua