The Tehran government asked Western nations Sunday to refrain from discussing new sanctions against the country over its nuclear programme and let the negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) proceed in a “positive climate.”

Speaking in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said “sanction talks” are distorting the “current positive climate” and urged all sides to allow the “normal process” to pursue.

The United Nations Security Council and Germany decided Friday to postpone a third round of punitive measure against the Islamic state until the IAEA report is analyzed.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Saturday that only an agreement with the IAEA would lead to the end of this dispute over Iran’s controversial nuclear programmes.

The five permanent member states of the Security Council said further decisions will depend on the outcome of the talks between European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani.

Last month, the UN nuclear watchdog and Iran agreed on a plan of action which would clear the mist covering Iran’s uranium enrichment programme and prepare grounds for discussions between Larijani and Solana aimed at solving the political aspect of the dispute.

Hosseini upheld the statement of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said “the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed and has turned into an ordinary agency matter.”

The spokesman said the remaining matters should be solved with the IAEA without further involvement of the international community and reiterated that Ahmadinejad’s statement is not new.

Hosseini said the president made the announcement last month during a press conference in Tehran and there is no reason for Western countries to criticize Ahmadinejad’s words.

According to the Iran-IAEA plan, several technical aspects must be clarified until December, while political characteristics should be discussed between Larijani and Solana after the IAEA presents its report on the progress made.

Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad said in New York that the uranium enrichment programme will continue but outlined that enrichment would not exceed the 5-per-cent level.

Uranium enriched at higher levels could be used in the construction of nuclear weapons, a fear expressed by the international community numerous times despite Tehran’s rejection.