Reuters

Iran held talks with the UN nuclear watchdog on Sunday about its investigation into su spicions that Tehran has conducted atomic bomb research, and is still committed to implementing agreed transparency measures, official media reported yesterday.

Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, appeared to acknowledge, however, that Tehran had missed a deadline of August 25 to meet five requests from the International Atomic Energy Agency about its nuclear programme.

“Iran is in the process of implementing the five agreed steps,” the official Irna news agency quoted him as saying.

Diplomats in Vienna told Reuters last week that Iran had apparently failed to meet the target date, but said contacts were continuing.

Western officials say addressing the IAEA’s concerns is vital for Iran to have any chance of success in parallel negotiations to end a decade-old nuclear standoff with the West.

Iran’s Press TV website said Iranian and IAEA experts had met in Tehran on Sunday. Najafi said they had exchanged information in “serious” discussions that would continue soon, Irna reported.

Diplomats in Vienna said they had heard about the IAEA’s visit to Tehran, but had no details so far. The IAEA itself declined to comment, suggesting any information would be included in its quarterly report on Iran, expected this week.

The Vienna-based UN agency has for years been investigating intelligence suggesting Iran has carried out experiments and other activities that could be used to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, but Western countries fear its real aim is to develop a weapons capability, and have imposed economic sanctions.

As part of accord reached in November in an attempt to revive the long-stalled IAEA investigation, Tehran agreed in May to carry out five specific steps by late August.

They included providing information on alleged experiments on explosives that could be used for an atomic device, and on studies related to calculating nuclear explosive yields.

While denying such allegations as baseless and fabricated, Iran has been promising to co-operate with the IAEA since Hassan Rohani, seen as a pragmatist, was elected president in 2013.

“Three out of the five steps have been completely implemented,” Najafi said, without giving details.

Apart from the information, Iran also agreed to give IAEA inspectors access to sites including a centrifuge research and development facility by late August.

 

Ahmadinejad’s vice president gets jail term

Mohamed Reza Rahimi, Iran’s first vice president under former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been sentenced to prison and fined, it was reported yesterday.

Appointed by Ahmadinejad after a controversial election win in 2009, Rahimi would be the most senior official from that era to be convicted.

“I cannot reveal the details because the sentence is not final, but it includes a term of imprisonment and a fine,” Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejeie, the second-ranking member of Iran’s judiciary, was quoted by state media as saying.

Iranian media previously reported that Rahimi, 65, was on trial for corruption.

 

Rahimi is seen with Ahmadinejad in this September 22, 2012 file picture.

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