Jung, who said earlier this week in an interview with Reuters that Iran should be allowed to enrich uranium for power generation, had meant that it should only be for "peaceful purposes," Joachim Schmidt, a spokesman for the German Defense Ministry, told Xinhua in a telephone interview.

Schmidt added that the German government's "lines" remained unchanged, and said Jung's statement in the Reuters interview had been "over-interpreted."

"What Jung underlined in his statement is that Iran's enrichment must be for peaceful purposes," Schmidt told Xinhua in German.

The purpose of Jung's statement was to urge Iran to accept the offer of incentives put forward by Germany and five other countries -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- in Vienna on June 1, Schmidt said.

The German government has made it clear that it has not changed its position on the issue and it is not necessary for the defense ministry to further clarify Jung's statement.

When asked by Reuters if Iran should be allowed to enrich uranium under the scrutiny of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Jung said: "Yes, I think so."

"The offer includes everything. That means the civilian use of nuclear energy is possible but not atomic weapons. And monitoring mechanisms must be applied," Jung was quoted as saying.

On Wednesday, a German government spokesman stated that Germany wants Iran to suspend enrichment in order to enable negotiations on the six-nation offer to start.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said his country would formally reply to the six-nation proposals in mid-August.

The United States has accused Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons under a civilian front, but Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.