Iran nuclear issue can still be resolved diplomatically: Amano

TEHRAN,Dec.1(MNA) – International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano said that there is an opportunity to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program through diplomatic channels. “All countries, and the IAEA, are willing to find a diplomatic solution. If there is political will, we can reach agreement,” Amano said in Vienna on Thursday, AFP reported. “There is an opportunity to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue diplomatically. Now is the time for all of us to work with a sense of urgency and seize the opportunity for a diplomatic solution,” he said. His comments came as the IAEA Board of Governors met in Vienna for a session dominated by Iran’s nuclear program. Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog have agreed to hold a new round of talks in Tehran on December 13. The latest round of talks between Iran and the IAEA was held in Vienna on August 24. The IAEA’s talks with Iran are separate from Tehran’s nuclear discussions with the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany), the latest round of which was held in Moscow on June 18 and 19. The Iranian ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said on Thursday that Tehran is “ready to find a face-saving solution (for the West)… provided that the other parties, the U.S. and the EU, cope with the reality.” “The reality is very simple. Iran is master of enrichment technology and will never ever suspend its enrichment,” he said, adding, “All activities are under the IAEA (inspections). They have not found a smoking gun… They have not found even a gram of uranium diverted to military purposes.” In addition, Robert Wood, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, said on the same day that Washington would take the rare step of pressing for the board to refer Iran to the UN Security Council if no progress was made before the next board meeting, AFP reported. “If by March Iran has not begun substantive cooperation with the IAEA, the United States will work with other board members to pursue appropriate board action, and would urge the board to consider reporting this lack of progress to the UN Security Council,” Woods said, according to prepared remarks.