Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereidoon Abbasi said Sunday that Iran will not stop high-grade uranium enrichment and will not close down the Fordo nuclear site, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

Abbasi told ISNA that there is no justification for the demands by the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany (G5+ 1) to stop the enrichment of uranium to the grade of 20 percent in Iran.

However, he added that "We won't enrich 20-percent uranium beyond our needs, because it is not economical to produce and to keep it."

"We will produce (20-percent uranium) to the amount to meet the needs of Tehran research reactor and the reactors that we are planning to build in future," he was quoted as saying.

Abbasi's remarks came just a few days ahead of the nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers slated for next week.

Reports said Sunday that in the coming nuclear talks between Iran and G5+1, the United States and its Western allies will demand Iran to suspend its high-grade uranium enrichment and close down Fordo nuclear enrichment site.

Abbasi said that Iran will not close down the underground Fordo enrichment site near the central city of Qom under the West's pressure.

"The demands of G5+1 to suspend the (enrichment) activities in Fordo site is illogical," said the Iranian atomic chief, adding that building a nuclear site underground is a countermove to the strike threats by some countries.

Iranian satellite Press TV reported earlier Sunday that Turkish city Istanbul has been confirmed as the venue for the next round of nuclear talks between Iran and G5+1. The TV later removed the news from its website.

Local semi-official Fars news agency also reported Sunday that after weeks of debates, Iran and the six world powers agreed to attend the meeting in Istanbul.

Quoting an unnamed source, Fars said that if there is good progress in Istanbul talks, the following round of talks will be held in the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad.

The news has not been officially confirmed by the G5+1.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Undersecretary Ali Baqeri and the EU foreign policy deputy chief have agreed on April 14 as the date for holding the talks, Fars quoted the unnamed source as saying.

It was previously reported that G5+1 and Iran will meet in Istanbul on April 13 and April 14 for talks over Tehran's disputed nuclear program. However, Iran later proposed that Iraq and some other countries should also be considered as the venue for the talks.

On Sunday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran wants nothing beyond the rights enshrined by Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the official IRNA news agency reported.

Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting former Japanese premier Yukio Hatoyama in Tehran.

He criticized G5+1 for setting unilateral demands in the nuclear talks, saying that the two parties must consider each other's demands in the negotiations, according to IRNA.

Iran will put forward practical proposals in the upcoming nuclear talks with G5+1, Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said Saturday that the next round of nuclear talks will give the West a "chance" to establish trust, Press TV reported.

Tehran will not give up its nuclear rights as a signatory to the NPT and as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Salehi in a meeting with Hatoyama in Tehran.

"Iran has endured all problems and restrictions for more than three decades to preserve its political independence and is determined continue this path," he was quoted as saying.

In a message to Iran's supreme leader, U.S. President Barack Obama said that Tehran can have a civilian nuclear program if it never pursues a nuclear weapon, the Washington Post reported Friday.

"President Obama has signalled to Iran that the United States would accept an Iranian civilian nuclear program if Supreme Leader (Ayatollah) Ali Khamenei can back up his recent public claim that his nation 'will never pursue nuclear weapons,'" said the report.

The newspaper said that the verbal message was sent to Khamenei via Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited Tehran last week.

But Obama did not specify whether Iran would be allowed to enrich uranium domestically, and this delicate issue evidently would be left for the upcoming talks between Iran and G5+1, said the report.