Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that he would put forward new initiatives on the ongoing nuclear standoff after forming his cabinet, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"We are ready to proceed with (the nuclear) talks. Of course, I will put forward initiatives in this respect after forming my cabinet," Ahmadinejad was quote as saying in a telephone conversation with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Ahmadinejad said Iran is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and expects its natural rights will be enshrined in the agency's charter.

Ahmadinejad's remarks came just one day after Iran resumed the sensitive uranium conversion activities in the central city Isfahan, a move having tensed the situation and drawn hard-worded warnings from the European Union (EU) as well as dissuasions from other countries and organizations including Russia and the United Nations.

Iran's resumption was a reaction to the latest EU proposal on the Iranian nuclear issue delivered last Friday, in which the EU urged Tehran to permanently halt the uranium enrichment activities.

Iran rejected the proposal as unacceptable, saying it fails to secure Iran's basic rights and the EU has not committed to its promises and the agreement reached previously by the two sides.

Ahmadinejad termed the EU proposal as an "insult" written in the style of colonialist discourse.

"What the Europeans have forwarded to us does not look like a proposal at all. It is an insult to the Iranian nation. They have talked in a way as if the Iranian nation was suffering from backwardness and the time was 100 years ago and our country was their colony. They acted in a such a way they want to give concession to us," Ahmadinejad stressed.

"The subjects they have mentioned in the so-called proposal have nothing to do with Non-Proliferation Treaty and its additional protocol," Ahmadinejad added.

The new president, who was sworn in on Saturday and expected to form his cabinet two weeks from then, urged Annan to secure Iran's natural rights and refrain from unilateral action.

"Mr. secretary general is also expected to support a member state of the international community to enjoy its rights. Of course, his eminence will refrain from unilateral action," Ahmadinejad said.

He reiterated that application of nuclear energy for civilian purpose is Iran's legitimate right and no one could ignore it.

The IAEA Board of Governors on Tuesday afternoon opened an emergency meeting in Vienna on the Iranian nuclear issue.

Britain, France and Germany, the EU trio negotiating on behalf of the union with Iran for nearly two years, have said that they would call on the IAEA meeting to refer Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council, which could inflict harsh sanctions on Iran.

The United States accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the disguise of civil usage. But Tehran has rejected the accusation and insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Source: Xinhua