Iran and IAEA Resume Talks

The International Atomic Energy Agency planned to continue talks with Iranian officials today in hopes of resolving questions on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, Reuters reported (see GSN, July 23).

In discussions that began July 13, the U.N. nuclear watchdog has won a promise that agency inspectors can visit an Iranian heavy-water reactor and receive better access to the Natanz uranium enrichment site.

Agency officials also want to investigate traces of highly enriched uranium found on some equipment in Iranian facilities, as well as Iranian research experiments into plutonium and centrifuges able to enrich uranium three times as fast as the model Iran is now using.

Iran nuclear negotiator Javad Vaidi was expected to meet this morning with IAEA nuclear safeguards head Olli Heinonen at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, said Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s ambassador to the agency.

“The second round [of talks] will be held, continuing the discussions of the modalities on how to deal with the outstanding issues, at the same level as in Tehran, and will go on all day,” said Soltanieh, who planned to participate in the talks.  “The agenda is clear, a work plan to deal with these issues. I don't know (if there will be a breakthrough)” (Mark Heinrich, Reuters/Washington Post, July 23).

New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday that Iran was likely to face additional sanctions because they appeared effective in slowing the country’s nuclear program.  He refused to eliminate the option of taking military action against Iran, the Associated Press reported.

“I’m not one who is going forward to say we rule out any particular form of action,” he said. 

“But I firmly believe that the sanctions we are imposing on Iran are sanctions that are having an effect already,'' Brown added.  “There will probably be a further [U.N. Security Council] resolution in relation to Iran soon, and I believe that is a way forward that is working and will work.”

Brown added that the United Kingdom would “take whatever measures are necessary to strengthen the sanctions regime in the future” (Associated Press/The Guardian, July 24).

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