IAEA, Iran appear to have failed again in talks

PanARMENIAN.Net - The UN nuclear watchdog and Iran appear to have failed again in talks this week to finalize a deal to unblock an investigation into suspected atom bomb research in the Islamic state, a diplomatic source said on Thursday, Jan 17, according to Reuters.

The UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran were expected to hold a further meeting on February 12, following two days of negotiations in Tehran that ended on Thursday, the source added, giving no further details.

The IAEA team led by Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts was due to return to Vienna early on Friday.

There was no immediate comment from the UN agency, which after a previous meeting with Iran in mid-December said it expected an agreement to be concluded in this month's talks. Western diplomats later said key differences remained.

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

Iran denies Western accusations that it is seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability, saying its program is aimed only at power generation and medical research.

The IAEA's immediate priority was to visit the Parchin military base southeast of Tehran, where it suspects explosives tests relevant for production of nuclear weapons may have taken place, perhaps a decade ago, accusations Tehran denies.

Western diplomats say Iran has worked for the past year to remove any incriminating evidence from Parchin, but IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said late last year a visit would still be useful.

Before leaving Vienna, Nackaerts said his team was ready to visit Parchin immediately if access were granted.

Tehran has said a framework accord with the IAEA should be reached before any visit to Parchin is allowed. It says the site is a conventional military facility and has dismissed accusations of ongoing "sanitization" there.