IAEA says talks on Iran nuke program delayed till Feb

January 14, 2014 - 21:34 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The UN nuclear agency said talks with Iran on Tehran's nuclear program have been postponed until February 8, according to VOA News.

The talks were originally scheduled for January 21 -- a day after Iran and world powers are set to begin implementation of an interim nuclear pact reached in November.

That deal calls for Iran to limit its uranium enrichment, which the West says was aimed at building nuclear weapons. In exchange, the United States and European Union agreed to ease economic sanctions on Tehran.

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wants Iran to provide guarantees of transparency about its nuclear program, and information about alleged past attempts to develop atomic weapons.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday, Jan 14, that the November deal meant the world has given into Iran's demands.

"The Geneva agreement means the wall of sanctions has broken. The unfair sanctions were imposed on the revered and peace-loving Iranian nation."

The six world powers that negotiated the interim pact -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- are holding separate negotiations with Iran on reaching a permanent agreement.

Related links:

http://itar-tass.com

http://voanews.com

Iran's nuclear program

Iran's leaders have worked to pursue nuclear energy technology since the 1950s, spurred by the launch of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program. It made steady progress, with Western help, through the early 1970s. But concern over Iranian intentions followed by the upheaval of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 effectively ended outside assistance. Iran was known to be reviving its civilian nuclear programs during the 1990s, but revelations in 2002 and 2003 of clandestine research into fuel enrichment and conversion raised international concern that Iran's ambitions had metastasized beyond peaceful intent. Although Iran has consistently denied allegations it seeks to develop a bomb, the September 2009 revelation of a second uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom -constructed under the radar of international inspectors - deepened suspicion surrounding Iran's nuclear ambitions.