Azernews.Az

Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that the continued existence of nuclear weapons across the world is a threat to humanity.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh has criticized the U.S., Great Britain, and other Western countries for conducting nuclear tests and transferring nuclear arms and technology to non-NPT member states, Iranian media reported.

Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency are set to hold talks over Tehran's nuclear energy programs next month.

The Iranian ambassador to the agency says the two sides will meet at the offices of Iran's mission to the IAEA in the Austrian capital, Vienna on May 15.

The IAEA's delegation will be headed by Herman Nackaerts, the head of the department of safeguards at the atomic agency.

The upcoming negotiations are expected to be held at a technical level.

Iran and the IAEA have already met for nine rounds of talks since late 2011. Their last meeting was held in the Iranian capital Tehran in mid-February.

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.