Moscow will try to persuade Iran to return to a moratorium on sensitive nuclear research, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

"Recognizing Iran's right to peaceful nuclear technology, the overwhelming majority of international community members, including Russia, believe the fulfillment of this right should be preceded by Iran's steps to meet its obligations related to this right," Lavrov told Ekho Moskvy radio.

Tehran should provide the International Atomic Energy Agency with comprehensive reports on "what exactly has been done with regard to its nuclear program," Lavrov said.

Iran's commitment to a moratorium on its nuclear work is " extremely important" until such matters are clarified, he said.

Iran removed UN seals at its Natanz nuclear research facility on Tuesday to pave the way for resumption of research on uranium enrichment following two days of talks between Iranian and Russian officials in Tehran, which failed to persuade it not to do so.

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed "deep disappointment" with the move.

Russia, which is helping Iran build its first nuclear power plant in Bushehr, has proposed to enrich uranium for Iran under a joint venture in the former Soviet republic's soil.

"It is cheaper for Iran to purchase fuel abroad than to invest in developing its own fuel cycle, at least at the current stage," Lavrov said, adding that Russia can even guarantee fuel deliveries for Iran's other nuclear power plants in the future.

Moscow and Tehran signed a nuclear fuel agreement in February 2005. It required spent fuel at Bushehr to be returned to Russia to prevent Iran from making nuclear bombs.

Source: Xinhua