Special Report: Iran Nuclear Crisis

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed Elbaradei attend an official meeting in Tehran Jan. 12, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    VIENNA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said here Sunday that Iran and the IAEA reached consensus to complete the implementation of the workplan agreed between the IAEA Secretariat and Iran in August 2007 in the next four weeks.

    She said that during Elbaradei's meetings with Iranian senior officials, including supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadi-nejad, the two sides discussed the "ways and means to accelerate implementation of safeguards in Iran as well as additional confidence building measures."

    She pointed out that an agreement was reached on the implementation of all the remaining vague issues specified in the workplan, and according to the agreed schedule, implementation of the workplan should be completed in the next four weeks.

    The two sides also discussed the importance of the implementation of the Additional Protocol and other confidence building measures called for by the United Nations Security Council, she added, and Iran also provided information on its research and development activities on a new generation of centrifuges.

    Some diplomats in Vienna pointed out that Iran's new attitude could be help ease the international pressure of new sanction on Iran, while some other diplomats believed that it was inauthentic, and a British diplomat even insist on putting more pressure on Iran.

    The United States has accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, which Iran has denied. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

    The U.N. Security Council has adopted two resolutions - one in December 2006 and the other in March 2007 - to force Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities and to give up its nuclear programs.

IAEA: Iran agrees to answer remaining nuclear questions by mid-February

    VIENNA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran agreed to answer to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) all remaining questions about its previous nuclear activities by mid-February, the IAEA said on Sunday.

    "Agreement was reached on the timeline for implementation of all the remaining verification issues specified in the work plan. According to the agreed schedule, implementation of the work plan should be completed in the next four weeks," the IAEA said in a statement.   Full story

Iran urges nuclear dossier to be returned to IAEA

    TEHRAN, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Saturday urged the country's disputed nuclear case to be returned from the UN Security Council to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), pledging not to give in to the U.S. pressure, the state television reported. Full story

Iran calls on IAEA to be more "impartial" over nuclear issue

    TEHRAN, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Saturday urged the UN atomic watchdog to be more "impartial" over the country's disputed nuclear program, during meetings with visiting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei in Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

    The role of ElBaradei in resolving Iran's nuclear case was "constructive," Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili was quoted as saying. Full story

IAEA chief calls on Iran to be more transparent over nuclear activities

Aqazadeh(R), head of Iran's atomic energy organization, speaks with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei (L) during a news conference in Tehran Jan. 11, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    TEHRAN, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Visiting UN atomic agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei on Friday urged Tehran to be more transparent over its disputed nuclear program, after talks with an Iranian senior nuclear official in Tehran.

    "We made good progress in our negotiation...and in the talks with Mr. (Gholam Reza) Aqazadeh we requested for more transparency so we could give necessary guarantees to Iran," ElBaradei was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency at a press conference after his meeting with Aqazadeh, head of Iran's atomic energy organization. Full story