IAEA chief hopeful Iran, EU talks will resume soon

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Wednesday he is optimistic that talks between the European Union (EU) and Iran on its controversial nuclear program will resume in the coming months.

The EU's talks with Iran, aimed at persuading Teheran to scrap uranium enrichment, collapsed after Iran resumed uranium conversion activities in August.

Germany, France and Britain -- the EU trio that have represented the EU in the talks -- bristled at Iran's renewal of nuclear fuel work and warned of hauling Iran before the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

"I am optimistic that in the coming months we will see a resumption of these negotiations," IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei told a meeting of the Nuclear Threat Initiative organization in Moscow.

He added a third party that can propose "face-saving" solutions, possibly Russia, should join the talks.

Everybody is interested in taking confidence-building measures and stopping Iran from producing nuclear weapon components to avoid a major international crisis over its nuclear dossier, ElBaradei said.

Iran has a chance to avoid sanctions by the UN Security Council if it actively cooperates with the IAEA on its nuclear program, he said.

Source: Xinhua