An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegation led by its deputy chief Olli Heinonen is in Tehran to discuss Iran's nuclear issue with government officials, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Monday.

The 4-member delegation, arrived here Sunday night, will kick off its work on Tuesday, seeking Iran's cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, said the report.

The report also quoted an informed diplomat in Vienna as saying that the impending talks between the IAEA delegation and Iranian officials would not be related to the recent IAEA resolution on Iran.

Earlier in the day, the official IRNA news agency reported that a senior IAEA delegation would be arriving in Iran later this week.

The Iranian nuclear issue hit a radical deadlock after Tehran in early August defiantly resumed its highly sensitive uranium conversion activities, the preparatory step for uranium enrichment.

As a result, the IAEA on Sept. 24 adopted a resolution drafted by the European Union, which urged Iran to fully suspend all of its activities related to uranium enrichment before November with a warning of referring the case to the UN Security Council.

Iran has rejected the resolution as illegal and unacceptable, saying it would not give up its legal rights.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi on Sunday urged the IAEA to stay away from political influences and therefore to close Iran's nuclear case possibly soon.

The United States accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the disguise of civilian program, while Tehran categorically denies the charge, saying its nuclear program is completely peaceful.

Source: Xinhua