Iran said today it would not discuss its ?obvious right? to master the nuclear fuel cycle but was open to talks that could reassure the West that its atomic plans were not aimed at producing bombs.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini also told a weekly news conference the Islamic Republic?s military was ?totally prepared to defend the country and Iran is totally prepared for any possible military strike.?

The United States, which believes Iran is trying to build an atomic bomb, has said it wants a diplomatic solution to end the row over Tehran?s nuclear ambitions but has not ruled out military action if that route fails.

Hosseini said Iran?s chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana had been in contact to try to resolve the dispute, which has prompted the United Nations to slap two rounds of sanctions on Iran.

But he said Iran would not discuss what Tehran calls its right under international treaty to enrich uranium, a process which can be used to make fuel for power stations, or material for warheads if enriched to a high enough level.