Western powers told Iran yesterday it must step up cooperation with a UN watchdog’s investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by the country if it wants to get a broader nuclear deal that would ease sanctions.
The warning was issued yesterday at a board meeting of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, as chief negotiators from Iran and six world powers prepared to resume talks in New York after a two-month hiatus.
Iran’s envoy, Reza Najafi, dismissed accusations about his country’s atomic activities as “mere allegations ... without any substantiation” but also said a new meeting with the IAEA to discuss the matter was expected to be held soon.
A stalled IAEA inquiry could further complicate the powers’ parallel efforts to reach a settlement with Iran on curbing its nuclear programme in exchange for a gradual phasing out of financial and other punitive measures hurting its economy.
The United States and the European Union said they were concerned about the slow headway so far in the IAEA’s long-running probe into suspicions that Iran has worked on designing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the charge and says it is Israel’s assumed atomic arsenal that threatens Middle East peace.
An IAEA report in early September showed Iran had failed to answer questions about what the UN agency calls the possible military dimensions of the country’s nuclear programme by an August 25 deadline.
In a statement to the IAEA meeting, the EU said it was disappointed with the “very limited progress” in that inquiry.
“The EU underlines that resolving all outstanding issues [between Iran and the IAEA] will be essential to achieve a comprehensive, negotiated long-term settlement,” it said.
That was a reference to the push by the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany to negotiate a resolution to the wider, decade-old dispute with the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme.
Iran has been promising to cooperate with the IAEA since Hassan Rouhani, seen as a pragmatist, was elected president last year on a platform of ending Tehran’s international isolation. It says its nuclear work is for non-military purposes only.