Iran, IAEA hold talks in Vienna

TEHRAN, June 9 (MNA) – Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency held a new round of talks in Vienna on Friday in an attempt to seal a framework deal on the arrangements for further investigation into Iran’s nuclear activities. The Iranian ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards Herman Nackaerts, and Assistant Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi participated in the talks. Reuters reported on Friday that the UN nuclear watchdog would press Iran for an agreement that would give its inspectors immediate access to the Parchin military complex, where it claims explosives tests relevant for the development of nuclear bombs might have taken place. Iran has said it will work with the UN agency to prove that such allegations are “forged and fabricated.” Both Iran and the IAEA say significant progress has been made on the so-called Structured Approach document that would set the overall terms for the IAEA’s investigation. But differences remain on how the IAEA should conduct its probe. In a speech to the 35-member IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on June 4, the agency’s director general, Yukiya Amano, announced that Iran and the IAEA would hold talks on June 8 and said, “I invite Iran to sign and implement the Structured Approach document as soon as possible and to provide early access to the Parchin site.” Amano said that he and Iran had decided in his meetings in Tehran to agree on the document. He held talks with Iranian officials during his one-day visit to Iran on May 21, which was his first since he assumed the post on December 1, 2009. “I was assured that agreement on the Structured Approach would be expedited and that the remaining differences between Iran and the agency would not be an obstacle to reaching agreement,” Amano told the Board of Governors. IAEA has said that gaining access to the Parchin military site, which is located southeast of Tehran, is a priority for the UN nuclear watchdog. Tehran rejected requests by the IAEA delegations to inspect the Parchin site during their visits to Iran 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. The new round of talks between Iranian and IAEA officials was held ahead of Tehran’s negotiations with the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany), which are scheduled to be held in Moscow on June 18 and 19.