IAEA Arrives in Iran Capital for New Nuclear Negotiations
A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has arrived in Tehran. On the agenda of the IAEA team are new negotiations with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) as well as representatives of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Diplomatic efforts over Iran's nuclear program appear to be dragging on and on.
In the negotiations, the IAEA is primarily concerned with explanations about three sites in Iran where traces of nuclear material have been found that indicate clandestine activities in the past. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Yagasi / CC BY-SA 4.0
The Iranian government denies that it has a secret nuclear weapons program. Iran insists all nuclear projects are civilian, according to AEOI spokesman Behrus Kamalwandi. The country currently enriches uranium to a purity level of 60 percent. A level of 90 percent is needed to produce nuclear weapons.
There is a realistic hope that Tehran will clarify and resolve the remaining differences with the UN nuclear agency, the spokesman said, according to the Tasnim news agency.
According to the IAEA, the talks are intended to clarify differences with Iran's nuclear agency. At issue, he said, are three sites in Iran where traces of nuclear material have been found. According to the IAEA, they indicate clandestine activities in the past.
Tehran has denied all allegations in this regard, claiming that its nuclear projects are peaceful and that the country is not pursuing a clandestine weapons program.
Meanwhile, talks in Vienna to revive the JCPOA have stalled, Vindobona.org reported. Iranian nuclear chief Mohammed Eslami yesterday that the country's uranium enrichment capacity is greater than ever before in the history of Iran's nuclear industry.