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Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog are holding their first talk in Tehran today after the country missed an August deadline for addressing questions about its suspected atomic bomb research, Reuters has reported.
The delegation, headed by Tero Varjoranta, IAEA deputy director general and head of the Department of Safeguards, is holding meetings with officials from the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran in the capital today.
The two remaining transparency measures within the framework of an agreement earlier reached between Iran and the Vienna-based agency will be on top of the agenda, spokesman for the AEOI Behrouz Kamalvandi said earlier on Monday.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency said today’s talks between IAEA delegation with Iranian officials will be about “the remaining issues about Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme”. It gave no further details.
Diplomats said last week that the International Atomic Energy Agency was looking to advance its investigation into Iran’s nuclear programme. The reaching of a broader diplomatic deal would end financial and other sanctions on the oil producing country, officials said calling for more cooperation from Iran.
According to the latest quarterly report published by the UN nuclear watchdog, Iran has implemented three of five transparency steps that it was supposed to by 25th August under a confidence-building deal it reached with the UN body back in November 2013.
On issues related to so-called Exploding Bridge Wire (EBW) detonators, the Islamic Republic has provided the necessary answers. EBW detonators are seen to have the potential for military applications.
But early last month, the IAEA said Iran had missed an agreed 25th August deadline for an inquiry into the country’s alleged research activities into explosives testing and neutron calculations. Iran has rejected the accusations, but has promised to work with the IAEA.
