The United States has welcomed Iranian interest in holding dialogue to prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities.

"We welcome the fact that they're interested in having a dialogue," US State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters on Monday, but at the same time said that Iran needed "to show the international community that its nuclear program is a peaceful one," AFP reported.

Calling Iran's nuclear issue 'important' to the international community, Wood claimed that the world was very 'skeptical' about the long disputed matter.

"We encourage Iran to come forward and provide the international community with all of the assurances that it requires to be convinced that Iran is pursuing a peaceful nuclear program," he added.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the US, France, Britain, Russia, China -- plus Germany had declared in a Wednesday statement that they would ask the EU Foreign Policy Chief, Javier Solana, to invite Tehran to a meeting to find 'a diplomatic solution' to the country's nuclear issue.

"We strongly urge Iran to take advantage of this opportunity to engage seriously with all of us in a spirit of mutual respect," the six powers said.

In a telephone conversation with Solana, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili welcomed the idea of talks based on the clear understanding of international realities and developments.

Jalili also said that Iran would issue an official statement in response to that of the P5+1.

Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), says its nuclear program is solely aimed at peaceful purposes. The West, though, accuses Tehran of developing a covert nuclear military program.

Under US pressure, the UN Security Council has slapped three rounds of resolutions on Iran over its nuclear program.

Iran says it is open to talks based on justice and respect, rejecting any precondition for dialogue over its nuclear case.