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Salehi: U.N. Nuclear Chief to Visit Iran

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Yukiya Amano, will visit Iran to discuss the dimensions of Tehran's nuclear program, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was reported as saying on Wednesday.

"The visit of Mr. Amano to Tehran is in line with discussions about possible military dimensions" of the program, Salehi said, quoted by IRNA state news agency.

"Our ambassador in Vienna is scheduled to have a meeting regarding the visit," he added without providing any exact dates.

Last month, diplomats close to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the continuation of negotiations between Iran and the Vienna-based U.N. agency in mid-October.

Amano has said he wants to pursue dialogue with Iran on suspicions of past nuclear weapons research activities, despite the failure of series of meetings since the beginning of the year.

"We will continue negotiations with Iran on a structured approach to resolve all outstanding issues. I hope we can reach agreement without further delay, to be followed by immediate implementation," Amano said on September 17.

The IAEA is seeking greater cooperation from Tehran to answer questions about a possible military dimension to Iran's nuclear program.

The agency has failed to convince Tehran to grant access to sites, scientists and documents linked to suspected activities that the IAEA believes were "relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device".

Several meetings since early 2012, and even a visit from Amano to Tehran in May, did not bring the two parties into an agreement.

Source: Agence France Presse


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