UN urges Iran to cooperate on nuclear program

Access to suspected facilities is ‘essential and urgent,’ says IAEA head

By Naama Barak 9 September 2013, 6:25 pm Edit

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Yukiya Amano prior to his departure to Iran from Vienna on Sunday, May 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

The head of the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog on Monday called on Iran to cooperate with the organization’s inspectors and allow them access to the country’s nuclear facilities in what he labeled an “essential and urgent” step.

Director general Yukiya Amano emphasized that the International Atomic Energy Agency was committed to working in a constructive and diplomatic manner alongside Tehran.

Amano spoke at a session of the agency’s 35-nation board meeting in Vienna, Austria.

It was the first time the board had convened since Hasan Rouhani was elected Iran’s president in June.

Rouhani is viewed by many in the West as more moderate than his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and he promised his voters to restore the country’s economy and to improve ties with the international community, raising hopes regarding nuclear talks between Iran and world powers.

Iranian and IAEA experts have agreed to discuss the agency’s attempts to investigate Iran’s suspected nuclear program, and are set to meet on September 27, according to the Associated Press. The meeting will take place amid reports that Iran has upped its nuclear activity.