IAEA director general says deal with Iran will be signed ‘quite soon’

TEHRAN, May 23 (MNA) -- International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano said that he expects to sign a deal with Iran “quite soon” on the arrangements for further investigation into the country’s nuclear activities. Amano made the remarks in an interview with reporters in Vienna on Tuesday upon his arrival from Tehran, where he held rare talks with Iranian officials on Monday during his first trip to the country since he assumed the post on December 1, 2009. “(A) decision was made to conclude and sign the agreement… I can say it will be signed quite soon,” the IAEA director general said, Reuters reported. According to Bloomberg, Amano also stated, “There was an important development on the structured approach document on which we have been working since January.” In addition, AFP quoted him as saying, “A decision was made by me and Mr. Jalili to reach an agreement on the structured approach,” he said, referring to his discussions with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili, who is the country’s chief nuclear negotiator. “At this stage I can say it will be signed quite soon, but I cannot say how soon it will be,” he said, without going into detail about the terms of the agreement. “There remain some differences,” he said, according to a transcript of his remarks released by IAEA officials, New York Times reported. But Amano noted that Mr. Jalili had told him that existing differences “will not be the obstacle to reaching agreement.” Asked about the Parchin military site specifically, Amano said, “I have raised this issue of access to Parchin, and this issue will be addressed as a point of the implementation of the structured approach document.” Iran rejected requests by the IAEA delegations to inspect the Parchin site, which is located southeast of Tehran, during their visits to the country from January 29 to 31 and February 21 to 22 and has made it clear that a framework must be agreed on for any access or visit. Amano’s trip to Tehran, which was announced unexpectedly on Friday, was of high significance since it was made two days before the scheduled talks between Tehran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) in Baghdad. The IAEA director general, after his meeting with Jalili, told reporters that the progress of talks between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog will definitely have a positive effect on the talks between Tehran and the six major powers. Of course, these are two different issues, but they can underpin each other, he stated.