Iran negotiator heads for nuclear talks

Iran's new top nuclear negotiator will hold his first meeting with the EU's foreign policy chief over Tehran's contentious nuclear programme today in Rome.

Saeed Jalili, a little known diplomat, was appointed his country's chief negotiator after Ali Larijani stepped down at the weekend.

The departure of the moderate Larijani was seen as a victory for hardline President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad that could push the Islamic Republic into an even more defiant position in its stand-off with the West.

However, Larijani was set to attend the Rome talks today alongside Jalili and the EU's Javier Solana, according to Iran's Foreign Ministry.

The talks had been scheduled before Larijani was replaced. The US and some of its allies accuse Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons and have demanded it halt uranium enrichment, a key step in the production of atomic weapons.

Tehran denies the claim, saying its programme is for peaceful purposes including generating electricity.

The UN Security Council has imposed two sets of sanctions over Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cut short his two-day visit to Armenia today, an Armenian presidential spokesman said.

The Armenian government had expected Ahmadinejad to address parliament and, in what was likely to cause controversy, plant a sapling at a memorial commemorating the victims of what Armenians consider genocide.

Viktor Sogomonian, press secretary of Armenian President Robert Kocharian, gave no reason for the Iranian president's decision to miss both planned events and return to Iran.

Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency, citing an unnamed source, said the decision was connected with unexpected developments in Iran.