DUSHANBE, January 14, Asia-Plus – Iran will clear up all of the UN nuclear watchdog”s remaining questions concerning its controversial nuclear program by late February, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said on Sunday.
The Islamic Republic is currently subject to two sets of UN Security Council sanctions over its defiance to halt uranium enrichment. Iran insists that it needs nuclear energy for electricity generation and not for weapons production.
Hosseini also said Iran was prepared to continue cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in compliance with its commitments under the international nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that Iran officially recognized only the IAEA as a party to talks on Iran”s nuclear program.
The Iranian president made the statement during his meeting with Mohamed ElBaradei, the IAEA director general, who is in Tehran for talks with the country”s leadership on Iran”s controversial uranium enrichment program.
ElBaradei said that the process of resolving disputes over Iran”s nuclear program was on the right track and called for active cooperation on all issues.
The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed on Sunday that Iran had agreed to clear up remaining questions over its past nuclear activities within a month.
The IAEA made the statement following two-day talks held by ElBaradei in Tehran.
“Agreement was reached on the timeframe for the implementation of all the remaining verification issues specified in the work plan. According to the agreed schedule, the implementation of the work plan should be completed in the next four weeks,” the IAEA statement said.
According to the statement, Iran also provided information on its research and development activities on a new generation of centrifuges.
