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Iran takes practical steps with IAEA to resolve dispute: official |
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08:07, July 05, 2007 |
An Iranian official said on Wednesday that Tehran has taken practical steps to resolve the outstanding nuclear issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the official IRNA news agency reported.
Iran's Under-Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) for International Affairs Javad Vaeedi said Secretary of the SNSC "Ali Larijani has invited IAEA inspectors to visit Iran to resolve the technical issues with the specialized agency, preferring the IAEA to the United Nations Security Council."
"We would better resolve the issue in Vienna instead of New York," Vaeedi said.
He also said that Tehran and the IAEA are to draw up a "modality plan" within 60 days to resolve Iran's nuclear standoff.
Vaeedi warned that imposing a new UN Security Council resolution against Iran's nuclear activities would be "an improper, hostile or destructive move to harm pace of cooperation between Iran and the IAEA."
The West pursues its old belief of suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment, but it will not help resolve the dispute, he added.
On Saturday, Iran's nuclear envoy at the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh, said deputy head of the UN atomic watchdog Olli Heinonen would pay a visit to Tehran on July 11 in order to resolve remaining issues on Iran's nuclear program.
"Heinonen and some officials of the IAEA will visit Tehran from July 11 to 13, and examine a work scheme to respond to all remaining issues over Iran's nuclear program," he said.
The IAEA delegation, however, would not inspect Iran's nuclear facilities during their trip since they are not inspectors, he added.
IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming has also confirmed in Vienna that Larijani, who is also Iran's nuclear negotiator, had "invited IAEA to send a team to Tehran to find out a plan to resolve the outstanding issues of Tehran's nuclear program."
At a meeting on June 23, Larijani and IAEA chief Mohammad ElBaradei declared that Iran and the UN atomic agency would work on such a scheme and hope that the scheme would bear results within a span of two months.
Source: Xinhua
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