Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday confirmed Iran's willingness to exchange low-enriched uranium with other countries for high-enriched fissile material.

Speaking after a cabinet session on state television, Ahmadinejad said several countries had expressed interest to cooperate with Iran on the exchange.

The president added that Iran would be prepared to hold talks with any countries and would soon send experts for technical discussions.

On October 19, Iran plans to discuss in Vienna its initiative to trade 3.5-per-cent-enriched uranium from the Natanz plant in central Iran for 20-per-cent material from foreign countries.

The 20-per-cent-enriched uranium is supposed to be used for the Tehran plant, which is a basic research reactor producing medical isotopes.

Iran's atomic chief Ali-Akbar Salehi said earlier this week that he would discuss the issue in Vienna with the US, Russia and France. (dpa)