IAEA in talks with Iran to set a date for negotiations

TEHRAN,April 24(MNA) – The UN nuclear agency is talking with Iran to set a date for discussions on further investigation into the country’s nuclear program, it said on Monday, Reuters reported. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a brief statement after Iranian media reported that talks were set for May 21. Asked about the Iranian media reports, IAEA spokeswoman Gill Tudor said in an email, “I can confirm we are discussing possible dates of a meeting with Iran.” Iran’s Mehr and ISNA news agencies initially reported that the meeting would be held on May 21, but ISNA later quoted an unnamed official as saying this was only a “preliminary agreement” and that the date could be moved by one or two days. The IAEA-Iran talks are separate from, but have an important bearing on, diplomatic negotiations between Tehran and six world powers aimed at a broad settlement to the decade-old dispute. Western powers suspect Iran is trying to develop the capability to produce nuclear weapons under the guise of a declared civilian atomic energy program. Iran denies this, saying it seeks only electricity and medical applications from uranium enrichment. If the Iran-IAEA meeting were to take place, it would be the 10th between the two sides since early 2012. The last round of IAEA-Iran negotiations were held in February.