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Bali meet may discuss Iran issue
 Indonesia's President Yudhoyono checks preparations for the Bali summit. QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- The Iran nuclear issue may be discussed at the Developing Eight (D-8) summit in Bali on Saturday, Malaysia's Deputy Foreign Minister Joseph Salang Gandum has said. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who began a state visit to Indonesia on Wednesday, will lead the Iranian delegation to the summit. He met with leaders of Muslim groups in Jakarta Friday before heading to Bali for the meeting, which deals mainly with economic cooperation and is being hosted by Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The D-8 brings together eight mainly Muslim nations: Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Nigeria. At a media conference in Bali, Malaysia's deputy foreign minister said he would not be surprised if Iran's nuclear issue "crops up" during the discussions, Malaysia's Bernama news agency reported. He said Iran might raise the issue so that other participants would understand its position. Joseph said Malaysia was not against the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, as it could be of great benefit in areas such as energy, medicine and agricultural improvement. Willing to talkAhmadinejad has said he is willing to negotiate with the United States and other world powers over his country's nuclear program. He told a gathering of students in Jakarta Thursday that every country had the right to use new technology to meet its energy needs, not just America, The Associated Press reported. He also called Israel "a tyrannical regime" headed for destruction, echoing his earlier calls for Israel to be wiped off the map, AP reported. Ahmadinejad said his country was willing to open talks with the West, but that the United States first must drop its "bad attitude." (Watch Ahmadinejad call nuclear powers "selfish and arrogant" -- 2:37) "We are not only defending our rights, we are defending the rights of many other countries," he said, according to AP. "By maintaining our position, we are defending our independence." Ahmadinejad's visit to Indonesia, the world's most populous nation, comes just days after he sent a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, the first direct communication between the leaders of both nations since the Islamic revolution in Tehran in 1979. (Full story) Bush administration officials have dismissed the gesture. But in Jakarta, Ahmadinejad said the diplomatic ball was still in the American court. "If they choose not to answer, it depends on them. We think we made the correct decision to send this letter at this junction, and we have done it. It now depends on the other side," Ahmadinejad said Wednesday. Incentive choiceThis week, key U.N. Security Council members agreed to give Iran a choice of incentives or sanctions in deciding whether to meet a demand to suspend uranium enrichment. Ahmadinejad told a Jakarta TV station in an interview Thursday morning that any threats against his country would make talks difficult. "If someone points an arm (a weapon) at your face and says you must speak, will you do that?" he said, according to an Associated Press report. The Iranian president said that Western nations with large stocks of nuclear weapons were practicing "double standards" in pressing Iran to stop its peaceful nuclear program, and dismissed the threat of sanctions. "We do not need to be dependent on others," he said. Earlier, Indonesia's president said he was willing to help mediate in the hope of finding a diplomatic solution. Yudhoyono's spokesman, Dino Pati Djalal, said Iran was very receptive to the offer. "We need to breathe new life into the negotiations," he said, according to a report from AP. Yudhoyono has said he hoped Iran would continue dialogue with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog. "There is still room for a peaceful and just solution," he said. "President Ahmadinejad was more than willing to have a genuine and fair negotiation." Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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