Iranian Foreign Minister Kamel Kharrazi declared Tuesday that he was hopeful that his country could reach a fruitful agreement with European Union countries on Iran's nuclear activities. The European Union is trying to persuade Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment program, which the United States fears could be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. Iran has repeatedly insisted its nuclear activities are peaceful. «(The negotiations) are moving, but the final evaluation will be by mid-March,» Kharrazi said after a meeting in Hungary's capital. «We have to wait until then to have exactly our conclusion on how the negotiations have gone.» --SP 1436 Local Time 1136 GMT
