German Chancellor Angela Merkel met visiting Mohammed ElBaradei, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on Monday over Iran nuclear issues.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is also to meet ELBaradei later in the day.

Germany, France and Britain were the three European Union nations which mediated the negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program last year.

Earlier this month, ElBaradei provided a report to the UN Security Council. The United States had argued that the report contains enough evidence to warrant action against Iran over its controversial uranium enrichment activities.

The report says the IAEA has no proof that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons.

Early last week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the Iranian nation would stand firmly to "regain its rights" on peaceful nuclear technology.

"Today we announce with pride that the peaceful knowledge and technology are in our disposal ... The Iranian nation has stood firmly to regain its rights and will continue the path until their full restoration," Ahmadinejad said.

Ahmadinejad reiterated that the nuclear negotiations with the EU during the past two and a half years had imposed damages on Iran, urging the EU to compensate for the loss.

"I recommend to these few states to compensate the damage and apologize to the great Iranian nation for the issue, and they should know that Iranian nation's memory is very clear and sensitive and would bear all the events," he said.