French Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the European troika (France, Britain and Germany) had canceled the meeting scheduled for Aug. 31 with Iran because of Iran's decision to resume nuclear work.

According to the spokesman of French Foreign Ministry, Jean-Baptiste Mattei, Iran broke the terms of an agreement signed with the three European countries in Paris in November 2004 under which Teheran promised to suspend the work pending the finalization of along-term agreement.

Teheran rejected the European proposals offering Iran nuclear technology, including access to nuclear fuel, increased trade and help with Tehran's regional security concerns, saying they are conditional on Iran's ceasing uranium enrichment, which can lead to the production of weapons-grade material.

The French spokesman said they had jointly decided to abandon the planned meeting at the end of August because of the breach of the Paris agreement. "This does not mean that there will not be any contacts with the Iranians," he added.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on Aug. 12 that France was waiting for a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Sept. 3 before deciding how to proceed.

(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2005)