IAEA chief hails ‘intensive’ nuclear talks with Iran

‘God willing, we”ll have more cooperation in future’:

IRAN: International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano hailed “intensive” talks on Iran's nuclear programme during a visit to Tehran on Monday, state television said, but no progress was made on key inspection issues.

“We had expansive and intensive talks in a positive atmosphere,” the broadcaster IRIB quoted Amano as saying.

The upbeat assessment was seen as significant ahead of broader, more substantive talks to take place on Wednesday in Baghdad between an Iranian delegation led by Jalili and representatives of world powers in the so-called P5+1 group.

“Certainly the progress of these talks will have a positive effect on Iran and the P5+1 negotiations. Of course these two issues are different from one another, but can underpin each other,” Amano was quoted as saying. Iranian officials, however, did not permit foreign journalists to approach Amano, so it was impossible to independently verify his comments.

Amano's reported comments gave no indication of agreement on specific areas the IAEA chief had set out to bridge.

A diplomatic source at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that, while Amano's talks had been good and could be followed with further discussions, no breakthrough was made. IRIB said that Iran's lead nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, lauded the “good talks” he had with Amano.

“We had very good talks with Amano and, God willing, we will have good cooperation in the future,” he said. And Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, after his own face-to-face with Amano, “expressed satisfaction over the opening of a new constructive path in Iran-agency cooperation” that “emanates from mutual trust and understanding.” Amano during his meetings discussed nuclear disarmament, halting nuclear weapons proliferation. AFP