Iran hopes to continue its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and seeks a balance of obligations and rights in the cooperation, Iran's ambassador to Russia said yesterday.

Iran cooperates with the IAEA and hopes to continue such cooperation "in the normal situation, without unnecessary ballyhoos," Gholamreza Ansari told the Itar-Tass news agency.

"We are expecting the IAEA to establish a logical link between the obligations and rights of Iran as a member of the agency," Ansari said.

"We seek such a balance and calm atmosphere, but some countries push the issue off the track of a peace solution and opt for using political leverage, and not law," he added.

The Iran nuclear standoff escalated after Tehran resumed nuclear fuel research in January, which prompted the decision of the UN nuclear watchdog agency last month to report its case to the UN Security Council.

Iran denies the U.S. charge of developing nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, insisting on its right to peaceful nuclear technology. And Ansari said bringing the UN Security Council into the efforts to deal with the problem "would be groundless from the legal standpoint."

Key members of the 15-nation Security Council have been wrangling over how to respond to the Iranian nuclear crisis. The council remains deadlocked over the text of a presidential statement on the matter.

Foreign ministers of the United States, Russia, China and the European Union trio -- Germany, Britain and France -- are scheduled to meet in Berlin Thursday on Iran.