Iran, IAEA begin talks on more cooperation

Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have begun negotiations on more bilateral cooperation.

“The talks will be about cooperation which has taken place between the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and the IAEA based on a November 11 (2013) statement, and the outcome of this cooperation,” the AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Saturday.

The two sides will discuss further as well, he added.

Iran’s IAEA Ambassador Reza Najafi and IAEA Deputy Director General for safeguards Tero Tapio Varjoranta are presiding over the talks.

Varjoranta arrived in the Iranian capital, Tehran, Friday afternoon along with two other officials from the agency.

Iran and the IAEA signed a joint statement in November 2013 to outline a roadmap on mutual cooperation on certain outstanding issues. Under the deal, Iran agreed, on a voluntary basis, to allow IAEA inspectors to visit the Arak heavy water plant and the Gachin uranium mine, south of Iran.

The IAEA inspectors visited the Arak heavy water plant on December 8, 2013 as the first step in mutual cooperation under the Iran-IAEA agreement. The IAEA inspectors also made a five-hour visit to the Gachin uranium mine in late January.

The agency's safeguards agreement does not require Tehran to authorize IAEA inspections of those sites. The voluntary move is a goodwill gesture on the part of Iran to clear up ambiguities over the peaceful nature of its nuclear energy program.