Iran has welcomed comments made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about starting nuclear talks between the Islamic Republic and the West.

Clinton recently stressed there is no hard-and-fast deadline for beginning to dialogue with Iran on nuclear issues.

Responding to Clinton, Iran's foreign ministry said Tuesday, "We share the same idea with her. Deadlines are meaningless."

However, Clinton also said that the Obama administration will move toward tougher sanctions if Iran does not respond positively to negotiations.

The administration had been trying to get Iran to agree to hand over it's enriched uranium by the end of 2009, but Iran has rejected that proposal. The Iranian government continues to claim their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.