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UN chief calls for diplomatic solution to Iranian nuclear issue

01 September 2012 04:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Friday regretted that Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have yet to reach agreement on resolving Iran ’s nuclear issue, and pressed for a "diplomatic and negotiated solution" to the prolonged problem, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"It is regrettable that Iran has yet to reach agreement with the IAEA on a plan to resolve all outstanding issues," Ban said in a statement issued here by his spokesman Farhan Haq.

The secretary-general made the statement in response to the latest quarterly report by the IAEA on Iran’s disputed nuclear program. The IAEA report said on Friday that Iran is hindering the UN nuclear watchdog’s inspection of its Parchin military complex, a possible site being used for suspected nuclear weapon development.

The report also noted that Iran has doubled its capacity to refine Uranium, saying it is unclear about its purposes of the development. Iran insists its nuclear program is only for peaceful means, and they will not give up their right to do so.

"The secretary-general emphasized that there can be a diplomatic and negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issues which should be pursued through a reciprocal, step-by-step process, " the statement said. "This must include measures by Iran aimed at building international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program."

Ban is in Iran to attend the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and he will return to New York on Saturday morning, Haq said.

Though the United States and Israel opposed his visit to Iran for the NAM summit, the secretary-general said he used "the opportunity of his participation in the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement to convey the clear concerns and expectations of the international community" on Iran’s nuclear issue, the statement said.