Herman Nackaerts, the Deputy Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, reported on his return from Tehran that he and his team have not yet managed to reach an agreement with Iran but all are resolved to meet again on February 12.
Iran is also scheduled to meet with the G5+1 delegation at the end of this month, and the lack of progress at the meeting with the IAEA does not bode well for the meeting with world powers.
The IAEA delegation headed by Nackaerts negotiated for two days in Tehran with the Iranian delegation headed by Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s representative to the IAEA. Nackaerts said upon his return, however, that “differences remained”, adding that no agreement has been reached yet.
The IAEA wants to inspect the Parchin Military Base near Tehran, but Iranian authorities refuse to allow this inspection, saying it’s a military site that’s not connected to Iran’s nuclear program. They also claim that inspection of a military site by a foreign delegation could pose security concerns.
The IAEA claims to have intelligence that nuclear tests might have been carried out at the Parchin Military Base.
Iran has held to the position that its nuclear program is peaceful and that it has a right to all of its aspects as an NPT signatory.
The U.S. and the EU, however, have subjected Iran to severe sanctions over suspicions that its nuclear program might have a military component.
