TEHRAN • Iran is studying a Swiss proposal to facilitate talks between Tehran and the UN atomic watchdog over the Islamic republic’s controversial nuclear programme, the Isna news agency reported yesterday.

“Switzerland has offered a plan for the continuation of negotiations with the (International Atomic Energy) agency ... our country’s officials are studying this proposal as a positive one,” parliament speaker Gholam-Ali Hadad-Adel said.

“Compared to some other plans, from Iran’s point of view this proposal can be studied and followed up,” he said.

He gave no details of the proposal or indicated if it was indeed new. In May, Tehran said it rejected as unacceptable a “Swiss plan” for Iran to freeze its work on sensitive nuclear activities in return for the world powers to halt UN sanctions imposed over its atomic agenda.

Iran and the IAEA are currently in talks to clarify the agency’s key questions about Tehran’s uranium enrichment activity.

Enrichment is highly sensitive because the process can be used to make the core of an atomic bomb as well as nuclear fuel.

The United States accuses Iran of using its nuclear programme to secretly develop weapons. Tehran denies the charge and insists its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes.

Tehran has been slapped with two sets of UN sanctions for refusing to freeze uranium enrichment.

Bid to free captive

Japan said yesterday it was working with Iranian authorities to free a student kidnapped by bandits, saying it was unclear how long he would be held captive.

Satoshi Nakamura, 23, a sociology student who had been travelling around Asia, was abducted Monday but was said to be in good condition.

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura remained tightlipped on the case, saying “there are no particular new things that I should tell.”

“These kinds of cases can be protracted, but they can also be resolved unexpectedly,” Komura told a news conference. “We want to continue making an effort to release him safely by coordinating with Iranian authorities.”