Iran, U.N. Team Resume Nuclear Talks in Tehran
Experts from the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency held a second day of talks in Tehran on Thursday aimed at finding a way forward in resolving perennial concerns over Tehran's nuclear program.
The talks mark the second round of negotiations, in little over than a month, between a team led by the International Atomic Energy Agency's chief inspector Herman Nackaerts and one headed by Tehran's IAEA representative Ali Ashghar Soltanieh, the ISNA news agency reported.
The two sides held "technical discussions" on Wednesday to "find a solution to concerns and questions raised by the IAEA," ISNA said.
Nackaerts has urged Iran to be "constructive", in remarks Tuesday before flying out to Tehran.
He also repeated "hope" that Iran would grant access to Parchin, a military base near Tehran where the agency's experts suspect Iran could have carried out experiments with explosives capable of triggering a nuclear weapon.
But the IAEA's hopes of reaching a deal were not high.
IAEA head Yukiya Amano has said he was "not necessarily optimistic," while a Western diplomat told AFP "there still remain some pretty big disagreements" with Tehran.
In mid-December the IAEA failed to reach an agreement for a "structured approach" for Iran to address what it calls "overall, credible" evidence of nuclear weapons research having been carried out until 2003 -- and possibly since then.
Iran vehemently denies having ever sought an atomic bomb.
Foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the government hoped to conclude a comprehensive agreement with the IAEA on Wednesday.
But that would only be possible if the agency recognized Iran's "nuclear rights," while playing down the chances that the IAEA team might get access to Parchin, he said.
"Parchin has no connection with Iran's nuclear activities," Mehmanparast said. Access to it could be discussed, but only in the context of a possible agreement.
The IAEA has pointed to new information uncovered since its last visits to the site in 2005.
They include satellite footage that the earth has been scraped and removed over a 25-hectare (62-acre) area, leading to Western accusations that Iran is destroying evidence.
The talks are closely monitored by the so-called P5+1 group -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany. Their parallel negotiations with Tehran over the nuclear program are currently stalled.
At their last meeting, held in Moscow in June, Tehran rejected P5+1 calls for it to scale back its nuclear enrichment activities, while asking for substantial sanctions relief.
Iran's economy is struggling to cope with punitive measures adopted by the US and the EU targeting its vital oil income and access to global financial systems.
In a speech to parliament on Wednesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran must fundamentally tailor its economy to overcome sanctions because Tehran's current approach is a losing strategy.
Source: Agence France Presse
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