Iran-IAEA talks to be held on February 8: Envoy
Iran Press TV
Tue Jan 14, 2014 3:32PM GMT
A top Iranian diplomat says planned negotiations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been deferred to February 8.
Iran Ambassador to IAEA Reza Najafi said on Tuesday that negotiations between Iran and the IAEA, which were originally scheduled for late January in Tehran, have been postponed to February 8 due to the implementation of the Joint Plan of Action between Iran and six major world powers.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Russia, China, France, Britain, and the US – plus Germany on Sunday agreed to begin implementing a landmark interim nuclear deal they clinched in the Swiss city of Geneva on January 20.
"Iran and the IAEA will continue their trend of cooperation as in the past," Najafi said, adding that based on an agreement reached between IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi, Tehran has agreed to cooperate with the IAEA on six cases.
In November 2013, Iran and the IAEA agreed on a roadmap based on which Iran would allow IAEA inspectors to visit the Arak heavy water plant and the Gachin uranium mine in Bandar Abbas, in southern Iran.
The move is entirely voluntary on the part of Tehran as it is under no such obligation under the Safeguards Agreement. However, Iran seeks to clear up ambiguities over the peaceful nature of its nuclear energy program.
The Iranian envoy noted that the IAEA inspectors visited the Arak heavy water production plant on December 8 and said the inspection of the Gachin uranium mine would be carried out soon.
The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, but has never found any evidence showing that Iran's nuclear energy program has been diverted toward non-civilian purposes.
SF/HMV/SS
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