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Iran committed to co-op with IAEA, ambassador says

22 February 2013 13:43 (UTC+04:00)
Iran committed to co-op with IAEA, ambassador says

The Iranian ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has once again expressed Iran's commitment to resolving issues pertaining to its nuclear energy program with the UN agency, Press TV reported.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh said on Thursday that Iran was committed to the continuation of talks with the IAEA to resolve the outstanding issues.

He made the remarks after IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano issued the agency's latest report on the Iranian nuclear energy program.

Soltanieh, however, called for a calm atmosphere without political propaganda in order for Iran and the IAEA to successfully address the issues.

Iran and the IAEA wrapped up their latest round of talks on the Iranian nuclear energy program in Tehran on February 13.

After the talks, Soltanieh, who headed the Iranian negotiating team, said Tehran and the agency had resolved some differences and reached an agreement on certain issues.

The Iranian envoy to the IAEA also stated on Thursday that the IAEA had been constantly inspecting Iran's nuclear facilities for ten years, and that the main message of the UN agency's report was that Iran had not deviated from civilian to military purposes in its nuclear energy program.

The IAEA report says the enrichment of 20-percent uranium is done merely to supply fuel for Tehran Research Reactor to produce radio-medicine for hospitals, Soltanieh said.

In December 2012, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Fereydoun Abbasi said Tehran will continue the enrichment of uranium to the 20-percent degree "as long and as much as" necessary.

The IAEA, whose mission is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, has been trying to negotiate a so-called structured approach with Iran giving the inspectors access to sites, officials and documents for their long-stalled inquiry.

World powers are monitoring the IAEA-Iran talks for any signs as to whether Tehran, facing intensifying sanctions pressure, may be prepared to finally start tackling mounting international concerns about its nuclear activity.

The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies. The Islamic Republic has on numerous occasions stated that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, using nuclear energy for medical researches instead.

The IAEA report was issued ahead of a new round of talks between Tehran and the P5+1 group, scheduled to be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on February 26.

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