Iran's chief nuclear negotiator said proposals offered by six world powers on Tuesday to end a nuclear standoff had positive points but also some "ambiguities" that had to be taken out.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana arrives at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran June 5, 2006. Solana arrived in Iran on Monday to deliver an offer of incentives aimed at persuading the Islamic Republic to abandon its plans to make nuclear fuel. [Reuters]

The proposals are aimed at persuading Iran to curb a nuclear program that the West fears will lead to an atomic bomb. They were agreed by the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

After receiving the incentives, chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said: "The proposals had some positive steps in them and some ambiguities which should be removed."

He added: "We hope, after we study the proposal in detail, we will have another round of talks and negotiations to achieve a balanced and logical conclusion."

So far, Iran has refused to give up uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to make fuel for nuclear power stations or, if enriched to a high enough level, material for bombs.

The dispute over uranium enrichment has stalled talks on curbing Iran's nuclear program in return for incentives from the West. Iran says the program is for civilian use only.

Oil prices, which have been pushed up by the dispute, dropped briefly by 33 cents after Larijani's comments.

The six-power incentive was given to Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, by European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

"We hope we can reach a permanent agreement. My meeting with Larijani was very positive. I would like to say our negotiations were positive and I am looking forward to a bright future," Solana was quoted as saying in a Persian translation of his original English comments on Iranian television.

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