Iranian media: IAEA chief in Tehran tomorrow

The head of the UN agency tasked to monitor a nuclear deal with Iran will visit Tehran tomorrow to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and discuss an impasse over interviewing experts he suspects may have worked on atomic arms, Iranian media report.

Yukiya Amano of the International Atomic Energy Agency will “receive Iran’s alternative proposal to nuclear scientists’ questioning,” said the reports Wednesday.

An IAEA probe of the allegations has been essentially stalemated for nearly a decade, with Iran dismissing them as phony evidence planted by the US and Israel.

Washington insists that the agency be given greater powers in its investigations as part of any overall nuclear deal. That includes questioning people possibly involved in the alleged weapons work — something Tehran rejects.

The IAEA Wednesday had no immediate comment on the reported trip.

Amano will also reportedly meet with Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

The reported trip comes as world powers use the seven-day window created by Tuesday’s decision to extend negotiations on the nuclear deal amid differences on how much access Iran must give Amano’s agency and other disputes.

— AP