Iran, IAEA talks hailed as “very productive”
By Sara Rajabova
Iran and the IAEA expressed optimism about the new round of talks, saying they will meet again on November 11.
Iran Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said a new approach adopted in recent talks between Tehran and the UN nuclear agency would strengthen bilateral cooperation, Press TV reported.
"We hope to achieve good results based on the proposals we have offered to the IAEA regarding how to continue the talks and we expect to witness the first signs of this new interaction at the end of the talks," Afkham said.
Afkham went on to say that Iran has always emphasized cooperation with the IAEA and has made utmost efforts for transparency, dispelling ambiguities, and giving response to the agency's questions.
Iran and the IAEA held two days of negotiations at two different levels in the Austrian capital Vienna on October 28-29.
Iranian permanent representative to the IAEA Reza Najafi said after the talks that Iran expected to open a new page in its relations with the IAEA in order to solve the issue of its nuclear program.
"Iran has made new proposals on practical steps as a contribution to the dialogue with the Agency, we discussed them in details, and the IAEA considered them constructive," Najafi said.
IAEA deputy director general in charge of nuclear inspections Tero Varjoranta also said that the two sides had a very productive meeting on past and present issues.
However, both sides refused to reveal the measures proposed by Iran.
"We have not agreed on this issue yet and we will have to discuss the details ahead of the next meeting," Najafi said, adding that the parties to the talks decided not to disclose the content of the agreements.
The two sides agreed to hold the next round of talks in the Iranian capital Tehran, on November 11.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said China welcomed the latest round of negotiations between Iran and the IAEA and hoped for further dialog between the two sides.
The Chinese spokesperson expressed hope that both Iran and the IAEA would play "constructive roles in pushing ahead with negotiations" with the purpose of finding a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.
Prior to Iran-IAEA negotiations, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met with the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano on October 28 and presented Iran's new proposals regarding its nuclear energy program.
The IAEA hopes for progress such as on getting access to Iran's nuclear sites, allowing its international inspectors to investigate what it calls the "possible military dimensions" of Iran's atomic activities. Tehran says it is enriching uranium solely for electricity generation and medical treatment.
The last round of talks between Iran and the IAEA was held on September 27, after which Deputy Director General for Safeguards Herman Nackaerts hailed the meeting as "very constructive."
The U.S. and some of its allies suspect Tehran's nuclear program of trying to develop nuclear weapons capability, but Iran insists it is purely for peaceful purposes.
Tehran has rejected their allegations, arguing that since the country is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.