Iran reiterated yesterday its rejection to a UN demand for it to halt uranium enrichment, saying the question of suspension is something "in the past".

"Suspension is something that is in the past. We will not take a step back," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi told a weekly news conference.

While Tehran is ready to hear the points of view of the European countries over its nuclear issue, Iran "rejected any talks with preconditions," Asefi added.

The Iranian official said Iran still prefers solving its nuclear issue through negotiations.

"There are two options. First is negotiations and second is the United Nations Security Council. We, of course, prefer the first option," the official IRNA news agency quoted Asefi as saying.

The second option "will have negative consequences for Europe," he said. "Even China and Russia have emphasized that the first option should be taken."

Asefi, in his last press conference as the Foreign Ministry spokesman, also urged European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana to make good use of the chance of talks with Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani.

Following more than three hours of negotiation in Vienna on Saturday, Larijani told reporters that the talks focused on the incentive package offered by Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States as well as Iran's response.

The talks were "constructive" and achieved "progress" in some aspects, Larijani said, adding that his negotiation with Solana would continue on Sunday.

Solana's spokesperson Christina Gallach said Solana also found the talks with Larijani "constructive and positive".

On Aug. 22, Iran officially responded to the six-nation incentive package, saying it would like to negotiate on its nuclear issue.

But analysts believed that Iran's response was not "comprehensive" and some "ambiguous" explanations needed to be clarified during the talks between Solana and Larijani.

The flurry of diplomacy followed Tehran's rejection of UN Security Council Resolution 1696, which calls on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities by Aug. 31.

At an informal meeting in Brussels last week, EU foreign ministers decided to maintain serious talks with Tehran in efforts to solve Iran's nuclear issue through diplomacy.