Iran on Monday said it was open to establishing a regional nuclear fuel consortium, reiterating that it would not stop enriching uranium.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei denied that Iran had proposed the idea but said it was floated in the past by several countries, without elaborating.
"One of the justifications (for such a proposal) is that the Middle East region and the Persian Gulf countries may need nuclear power and would like to build new power plants, and these power plants require nuclear fuel," said Baqaei during a weekly press briefing.
"If such an initiative is proposed, we would welcome it and could also participate in it, but it should be noted that such an initiative is in no way intended to replace Iran's uranium enrichment programme," he added.
On Tuesday, The New York Times quoted four anonymous Iranian officials as saying that Tehran had proposed "a joint nuclear-enrichment venture involving regional Arab countries and American investments".
The venture would serve "as an alternative to Washington's demand that it dismantle its nuclear program", it added.
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