Iran Nuclear Talks on Feb. 18 in New York, IAEA Chief: Time to Tackle More Difficult Issues

Local Editor

Talks between Iran and six world powers on a long-term deal for Tehran's nuclear program will be held in New York on Feb. 18, a Russian diplomat said on Friday, according to the Interfax news agency.

Six world powers, including the United States and Russia, have led years of negotiations aimed at persuading Iran to curb parts of its nuclear programme, which Western powers fear is aimed at creating atomic weapons capabilities. Iran denies this.

"Agreement has been reached that the next meeting at the level of political directors will take place on Feb. 18 in New York," Interfax quoted Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the Foreign Ministry's security and disarmament department, as saying.

Meanwhile, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, stressed Friday that "given the recent progress with Iran, it is time to tackle "more difficult" nuclear issues such as allegations of past weapons work."
"We started with measures that are practical and easy to implement, and then we move on to more difficult things," said Amano.

The head of the UN atomic watchdog further wished to include issues with 'possible military dimensions' in future steps ... We have already discussed it and will continue to discuss it at the next meeting" between the IAEA and Iran on February 8.
A November 11 agreement with the IAEA towards improved oversight over Iran's program included six steps such as this week's visit by IAEA inspectors to the Gachin uranium mine and to a new reactor plant at Arak in December.

Amano, also said: "Iran has not been let off the hook," saying that the November 24 accord with world powers made clear that "all past and present issues" must be resolved.
"When we say past and present issues, naturally it includes issues of possible military dimensions," said the Japanese, head of the IAEA since 2009.

How long this takes "very much depends on Iran. It can be quick or it can be long. It really depends on their cooperation," he said.
"We are a technical organization. We focus on facts, we report only facts. Foreseeing the future, speculating the future, is very difficult," he said.
"You could not have foreseen this situation six months ago. A year ago it was completely impossible. One of the things I learned in this profession is that foreseeing things does not help much."

Amano said that the IAEA would inform member states "without delay" if Iran began to veer away from its commitments in a "significant" way. Otherwise there would be brief "regular" updates and in-depth quarterly reports as normal.
This increased verification role led Amano last week to appeal for some 5.5 million euros in extra money, and he said that "more than one dozen" countries have so far committed to contributing.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team