U.S., Iran hold bilateral discussions on nuclear issue

GENEVA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. and Iranian officials met bilaterally on Iran's nuclear program in Geneva on Thursday, a U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed.

The bilateral meeting was held between U.S. Under Secretary of State William Burns and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili on the margins of the Geneva talks, which also involve senior diplomats from Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, Robert Wood told reporters.

The talks, which are still going on, are part of the international efforts to settle a long-running standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

The United States and other Western powers have long suspected Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing nuclear weapon material, but Tehran argues that it has no intention to make nuclear weapons and that its atomic drive is only for peaceful purposes.