TEHRAN, Oct 13: Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman says his country is ready to show flexibility at nuclear talks to ease western concerns over Tehran’s contentious nuclear programme.

The remarks by Ramin Mehmanparast, published by the official IRNA news agency on Saturday, underscore Iran’s push to resume talks with world powers as western sanctions squeeze the economy tighter and the European Union weighs a boycott of Iranian natural gas.

The five members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany and Iran, aim to resume high-level talks that were suspended in June.

The countries want the Islamic Republic to stop enriching uranium to 20 per cent purity because at that level the material can be quickly turned into fuel for nuclear weapons.

KHAMENEI: Iran’s supreme leader said on Saturday that his country will defeat a combination of sanctions, military threats and “soft wars” launched by enemies trying to weaken Iran and force it to back down over its nuclear programme.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks, his third public speech in a week, came as tensions rise in the standoff between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear programme. They follow a precipitous decline in Iran’s currency linked to economic sanctions imposed by the West, as well as remarks by Defence Secretary Leon Panetta highlighting the possibility of a cyberwar between Iran and the United States.—AP