Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi says the time is ripe for Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to adopt a new approach in bilateral negotiations.We seek more cooperation [with the IAEA] with the purpose of giving assurance about the peaceful nature of Irans nuclear energy program that it is peaceful and will always remain peaceful, Araqchi said in Vienna on Monday.
The Iranian deputy foreign minister and top nuclear negotiator in recent talks with the six major world powers -the US, UK, Russia, China, and France plus Germany- held a meeting with the UN nuclear agency chief Yukiya Amano in the Austrian capital.
Araqchi assessed as very important Mondays talks with the IAEA chief and added that talks were aimed at finding answers to the remaining questions.
He added that negotiations between Iran and the IAEA are complicated and longstanding.
The member of the Iranian nuclear negotiating team expressed hope that bilateral cooperation between Tehran and the IAEA would help the sides find a solution to the issues.
Amano, for his part, urged the IAEA and Iran to make concrete progress in their talks on Monday.
"It is very important for all of us that we can show concrete progress," Amano said at the start of the talks.
Irans Ambassador to the IAEA Reza Najafi is heading the Iranian delegation and IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards Herman Nackaerts is leading the IAEA team.
The last round of talks between Iran and the IAEA - the first to take place under the administration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani - was held on September 27. Afterwards Nackaerts hailed the meeting as very constructive.
The United States, Israel and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran has categorically rejected the allegation, stressing that as a committed member of the IAEA and a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it is entitled to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Irans nuclear facilities, but has never found any evidence showing that the Iranian nuclear program has been diverted toward non-civilian objectives.
By Press TV
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