UN’s atomic agency mulls Tehran invitation

The United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is considering the invitation of UN nuclear watchdog chief, Yukiya Amano, to Tehran, the agency said. 

The statement by the IAEA came after Iranian media earlier on Tuesday qouted Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi saying Amano was expected to visit Tehran on November 11.

Salehi said he hoped “to reach an agreement with the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency and issue a joint statement”, the website of state broadcaster IRIB quoted him as saying.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran have held a series of meetings since early 2012 over a stalled IAEA investigation into suspected nuclear bomb research by Iran, which denies the charge.

After talks last week between senior IAEA and Iranian officials in Vienna, described by both sides as “very productive”, a new round was set for November 11 in Tehran, but without any word on Amano possibly taking part.

Salehi said he had invited Amano to visit on that day and that Amano, IAEA director-general, had expressed his “inclination” to do so, state television said.

It would be Amano’s first visit to Tehran since May last year.

Salehi said he hoped that “we will reach an agreement in this trip with the director of the IAEA and issue a joint statement”.

There was no immediate comment from the IAEA.