WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met Iran's foreign minister in Kabul this week as the West tries to revive talks with Iran on its nuclear program, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to say whether Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki gave Ashton reason to believe Iran is ready to re-engage with major powers.
"Catherine Ashton, on the fringes of the Kabul Conference, had a conversation with Iran," said the official, saying she met with Mottaki on the sidelines of a conference of about 60 foreign ministers in the Afghan capital. "We’ll see … if and when they are ready to engage the P5+1 in a constructive way."
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — along with Germany have sought to persuade Iran to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for nuclear power plants or, if taken to a much higher level, for atomic bombs.
The United States and several of its allies suspect Iran is using its nuclear program as a cover to develop a bomb. Iran has said that its program is designed to produce electricity.
