Iran, under mounting sanction pressures from the West, is likely to give up its high-grade uranium enrichment activities if it can obtain the necessary nuclear fuel, an Iranian expert has said.

If the West or the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is prepared to provide Iran with nuclear fuel made of 20 percent enriched uranium for feeding the country's experimental reactors, Iran will likely stop producing enriched uranium, Dr. Sadeq Zibakalam, a professor of political science with Tehran University, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Zibakalam said the reason that Iran has been producing 20 percent enriched uranium is "the West refused to provide nuclear fuel for Tehran's research reactor."

"When the West refused, Iran had no alternatives but to produce the 20 percent (enriched uranium) in Natanz or Fordo (nuclear enrichment sites)," he said, arguing that if Iran is provided with the fuel needed for the research reactor, "We will abandon our program for producing 20 percent enriched uranium."

Zibakalam's words were echoed by Iran's Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi, who said Monday that if Tehran is provided with high-grade enriched nuclear fuel, it will decide differently about enriching uranium to that grade domestically.

Iranian lawmaker Parviz Sorouri also said on Saturday that the Islamic republic is ready to review its decision on producing 20-percent enriched uranium if its needs are met.

Meanwhile, Zibakalam said Iran, as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that stipulates its signatories have the rights for peaceful nuclear energy, will not give up its low-grade enrichment activities for producing fuel for nuclear reactors.

"Iran has gone too far and no one can expect Iran to forget about 20 years of progress and spending billions of (U.S.) dollars building up this huge (nuclear) industry...It has been very expensive for Iran," said Zibakalam.

So no one can expect Iran to close up the whole uranium enrichment activities, and the solution is that Iran continues 3.5 percent enrichment activities, which is for the fuel purposes, he said.

Regarding Iranian officials' remarks that in the next round of talks how Iran can gain access to uranium enriched at different levels will be discussed, Zibakalam said there will be lots of hard bargaining between Iran and the West in the Baghdad talks, adding the West will try to extract further and further and further from Iran, while Iran will try to give less and less concessions.

After a nearly 15-month deadlock over talks on Iran's suspected nuclear program, a new round of nuclear talks between Tehran and six major powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- concluded in Turkey's Istanbul on Saturday, with both sides describing the talks as "positive and constructive" and agreeing to hold a further round of talks in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on May 23.

During the Istanbul talks, the related parties agreed to prepare a draft to be discussed in Baghdad, where such crucial issues as whether Iran should stop 20 percent uranium enrichment activities and how Iran's rights for peaceful nuclear energy can be ensured are expected to be discussed.

Zibakalam said both sides want to reach a compromise and a deal.