The United Nations' nuclear watchdog and Iran will meet again next week after a "good exchange of views" during two days of talks on the Islamic state's atomic programme, a senior UN official said on Tuesday. The head of the Iranian delegation said progress was made in the meeting in Vienna which dealt with the UN agency's mounting concerns that Tehran may be seeking to develop the capability to develop nuclear weapons.
Neither side gave details about the content of the talks and they did not say if they discussed Iran granting UN inspectors access to its Parchin military site - where the watchdog suspects nuclear bomb-relevant research has been carried out. The meeting tested Iran's readiness to address concerns over possible military aspects to its nuclear work - which it says is entirely peaceful - ahead of negotiations on the programme's future in Baghdad on May 23 between Tehran and six world powers. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had hoped the meeting would secure agreement on access to Iranian sites, documents and officials involved in suspected research that could be put to use producing nuclear explosives.
"The primary focus of our discussions was how to clarify issues related to possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear programme," IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts told reporters after two days of talks at an Iranian diplomatic mission in Vienna. "We had a good exchange of views and we will meet again on Monday," Nackaerts added.
Iranian Ambassador Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, standing next to Nackaerts, said the two sides had had "fruitful discussions in a very conducive environment we have had progress." Western diplomats were watching the talks for any sign Iran is ready to make concrete concessions ahead of the encounter in Baghdad next week.
The IAEA, the UN agency tasked with preventing the spread of nuclear arms, said before the meeting that its priority was to visit the Parchin military complex where Iran may have conducted high-explosives tests relevant for developing atomic arms capability.
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