IAEA hopeful about Iran-US talks
The International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Mohamed ElBaradei urges Iran to unblock nuclear stalemate.
The IAEA welcomes US readiness to engage Iran in resolving the nuclear standoff but urges Tehran to ‘unblock the stalemated situation’.
"I again urge Iran to implement all measures required to build confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program at the earliest possible date and to unblock this stalemated situation," the International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Mohamed ElBaradei said in Vienna on Monday.
ElBaradei made the remarks in his opening address to the IAEA’s 35-member board of governors, the first since the US President Barack Obama took office on Jan. 20.
His statement came after Obama vowed to change the former president George W. Bush’s carrot-and-stick policy toward Tehran over its nuclear program and signaled willingness to move toward "face to face dialogue" with Iranian officials without preconditions.
Iran and the US have not had any official diplomatic relations for nearly three decades. The two countries severed all ties in 1980 in the aftermath of the US embassy takeover in Tehran.
In his Monday speech, ElBaradei expressed hope that a possible change in US policy towards Iran would break the deadlock over its nuclear program.
"I am hopeful that the apparent fresh approach by the international community to dialogue with Iran will give new impetus to the efforts to resolve this long-standing issue," he said.
Tehran says the only aim of its nuclear program is the civilian applications of the technology. The US, Israel and their European allies -- Britain, France and Germany -- accuse the country of pursuing military purposes.
In its latest report on Iran’s nuclear program, the IAEA said that the country had produced a total of 1,010 kilograms - or 2,227 pounds - of low-enriched uranium.
Following the release of the agency’s report, UN officials and arms control experts claimed that Iran had amassed enough fissile material "for a single weapon."
Iran denies the allegation that it is seeking to build a bomb and argues that the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) - to which it is a signatory - allows for a domestic, civilian nuclear industry.
Other links:
Iran to pre-commission nuclear plant
US continues threatening Iran on N-program
U.S. intelligence reconfirms Iran has no nuclear arms program
