Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency will arrive in Tehran tomorrow (Sunday) to discuss Iran’s nuclear activities.
IRNA reports that the IAEA delegation will arrive in Tehran headed by IAEA deputy director general Herman Nackaerts.
The delegation will hold talks with Iranian authorities regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s representative to the IAEA, told IRNA that the senior delegation’s trip to Tehran “attests to the fact that Iran’s nuclear activities are peaceful.”
“On this trip, the agency’s concerns will be set in a framework of agreement,” Soltanieh said, “and the mutual commitments of both parties toward clearing up all ambiguities will be discussed.”
Iran’s representative to the IAEA maintained that Iran’s willingness to host the agency’s inspectors should confirm that Iran is willing to make every effort to clear up all ambiguities and cooperate fully with the IAEA.
Soltanieh added that the purpose of the current trip is to “defuse the conspiracies of Iran’s enemies and their baseless accusations, while proving the transparency and peacefulness of Iran’s nuclear activities.”
Yukiya Amano, the head of the IAEA, expressed hope that Tehran would ease the atomic negotiations through constructive cooperation.
This week, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also asked the parties involved in Iran’s atomic dossier to avoid conflicts and nonconstructive statements.
He maintained that there can be no alternative for resolving the disputes over Iran’s nuclear program other than peaceful means.
Ban Ki-moon also called on Iran to show more cooperation with the IAEA.
The disputes over Iran’s nuclear dossier have intensified after the last IAEA report indicated that there may be a military dimension to Iran’s nuclear activities.
Since then, both the U.S. and the EU have imposed sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank, and the EU has gone the extra step of imposing an embargo on Iranian petroleum products.
Russia, on the other hand, has condemned the new sanctions, saying nuclear disputes with Iran should only be resolved through diplomatic talks.
Iran recently announced that it is ready to return to the negotiation table with the G5+1.
