Iraqi PM says Iran wants to have nuclear talks with US

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki informed the US administration this month that Iran wanted direct talks with the US on its nuclear program, the Jerusalem Post cites a report published by The New York Times on Friday as saying.

Maliki also said that Iraq was prepared to facilitate the negotiations.

The report quoted US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell as saying that the US was open to direct talks with Iran in order to resolve the international community's concerns about Iran's nuclear program, The Jerusalem Post reports.