Iran Ready To Address All IAEA Concerns: Official

Tehran, Feb 8, IRNA – Iran is ready to answer all questions raised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over its peaceful nuclear activities, said the spokesman of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Behrouz Kamalvandi on Friday. Speaking to IRNA, Kamalvandi said the next round of talks between Tehran and the IAEA is aimed at further cooperation between the two. Under the agreement signed by the IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano and head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali-Akbar Salehi in Tehran on November 11, Iran agreed to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog on six issues. He noted that Iran has already implemented two items namely the visit of the IAEA experts to Arak heavy water facilities and also another visit to Gachin mine in southern port city of Bandar Abbas. Regarding the four remaining items, Kamalvandi said, Iran was required to provide IAEA with data. He explained that in three cases the needed data was offered to the watchdog agency with the remaining fourth to be done in a few days. The AEOI spokesman said that under the agreement Iran was expected to complete the required measures by February 9, 2014. He said that after the deadline expire, having received information from the IAEA on the six items, Tehran will be able to assess ways of continuing its cooperation with the IAEA.. On the upcoming talks between Tehran and the international nuclear agency, Kamalvandi said Iran does not regard the talks as ˈthe second stepˈ. However, he stressed that the two sides will certainly talk about the next bunch of issues and future cooperation. On the sidelines of the recent security conference in Munich, Amano said Iran and the IAEA will hold talks on February 8 to continue their talks on the issue. Following the November agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, a two-person team of the agencyˈs investigators arrived in Iran on December 7 and visited Arak heavy water facilities a day after. IAEA inspectors also visited Gachin uranium mine on January 29./end