German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle reiterated the need for a negotiated settlement of the impasse over Iran's nuclear issue.

According to IRNA, talking to the German ZDF public broadcasting network Sunday evening, Westerwelle said, "We want to negotiate and we want a solution via negotiations ..."

The German minister had over the weekend reaffirmed Iran's right to have a peaceful nuclear program in his speech to the 46th Munich Security Conference.

Westerwelle said "Iran has the entitled right to peaceful use of nuclear energy," He voiced hope that Tehran could reach a nuclear fuel swap agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying it would be "a step towards establishing trust."

Westerwelle's remarks came in the wake of comments by his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki who expressed optimism on achieving a nuclear fuel exchange deal following his talks with the head of UN nuclear watchdog Yukiya Amano in Munich on Saturday.