VIENNA (Reuters) -The U.N.nuclear company pressed Iran on Tuesday to address issues about suspected bomb research, saying it was ready for talks so on and avoiding any mention of Tehran's claim that "terrorists" may have infiltrated the Vienna-based watchdog.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a report on a meeting between IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano and Iranian nuclear energy head Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani on Monday, which was held just time after Abbasi-Davani sharply belittled the U.N. body in a speech to its annual assembly. Amano said it was essential for Iran to cooperate with his inspectors to clarify suspicions about possible army dimensions to its nuclear program, a charge Tehran rejects.
He told Abbasi-Devani that the IAEA " is committed to continued dialogue with the Islamic Republic of Iran and expressed the readiness of agency negotiators to meet with Iran's in the near future", the statement said. Western diplomats said they expected the next meeting to be held in october bu the venue is still unclear.
The U.N. agency has been seeking to resume a long-stalled investigation into Iran's atomic actions, but talks that began in January have made little headway, with the two sides disagreeing on how it should be carried out. But they also want Iran to show full nuclear transparency as well as to curb its uranium enrichment. As part of that process, which also has made little progress, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was due to meet Iran's nuclear negotiator saaed Jalili in Istanbul on Tuesday.
Israel has signaled increasing impatience with the failure so far of diplomacy and sanctions to make Tehran back down, ramping up threats of a military attack on its arch enemy.