Iran, IAEA agreed on some points of new modality: Iranian ambassador

TEHRAN,Feb.16(MNA) – Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Wednesday that Iran and the IAEA had agreed on some points of a new modality for cooperation. Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh made the remarks after the end of a new round of talks between Iran and the IAEA over the country’s nuclear program which was held in Tehran on the same day. “In addition to resolving some disagreements and agreeing on some points of the text of the modality, it was agreed that the two sides would present their views about the new proposals, which were put forward during the talks, in the next meeting,” he said. According to Reuters, IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts, who headed the eight-member IAEA delegation, said in Vienna on Thursday after returning from Tehran that Wednesday’s meeting “could not finalize the document” on further investigation into Iran’s nuclear program. He also said no date had been set for more talks, adding, “Time is needed to reflect on the way forward.” The IAEA has called on Iran to sign and implement a structured approach document to resolve the outstanding issues and has stated that gaining access to the Parchin military site, which is located southeast of Tehran, is a priority for the UN nuclear watchdog. The UN nuclear agency has claimed that Iran might have been trying to sanitize the Parchin site of any incriminating evidence of explosive tests that would indicate efforts to design nuclear weapons. Iran has dismissed the claim and has made it clear that access to the conventional military site would not be possible before an agreement is reached on the structured approach document. The United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany are due to meet Iran for separate talks in Kazakhstan on February 26 to tackle a decade-old row over the country’s nuclear program that has already produced four rounds of UN sanctions against Iran.