Clinton: Iran Talks Somewhat Successful

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates say last week's talks in Geneva between Iran and world powers were somewhat successful.

The leaders spoke with CNN during an interview taped at George Washington University late Monday.

Clinton said the meeting with Iran yielded three agreements that give world powers time to assess Iran's commitment to negotiations. She said Iran agreed to ship low-enriched uranium abroad for processing, to allow inspections of nuclear sites, and to meet with world powers later this month for another round of talks.

Russia's foreign minister said earlier Monday the six world powers had reached a preliminary deal to help enrich uranium for an Iranian reactor. But he said details of that plan have yet to be finalized.

Sergei Lavrov said experts will meet in the near future to implement the plan. Iran and six world powers discussed uranium enrichment in Geneva last week.

Also Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman hailed his nation's negotiations in Geneva as a "national success."

Hassan Qashqavi told reporters Monday that Iran resisted foreign pressure about its nuclear program during the meeting last Thursday.

At that time, Iran agreed to meet with world powers on October 19 and said it would allow inspections of its newly revealed nuclear facility near Qom.

United Nations nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei met with Iranian officials in Tehran Sunday and announced that inspection will take place October 25.

ElBaradei also said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has no concrete proof that Tehran has an ongoing weapons program. However, he said it is still investigating allegations that Iran has studied nuclear weapons.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.