Asia

Home page

Asia

U.N. nuclear chief upbeat on Iran but says bomb probe will take time

02 June 2014 23:46 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Monday that Iran had begun to engage substantively with a long-thwarted probe into suspected atom bomb research, but that more was needed to clear up his concerns, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Describing the investigation as a "jigsaw puzzle", Yukiya Amano made clear that it would not be finished before the July 20 deadline that Iran and six world powers have set for the conclusion of broader talks to settle a long-term dispute over Iran's nuclear programme.

But Amano said he did not believe the major powers expected the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to finish its investigation by then. "That is not our timeline. It is their timeline. We will take the necessary time to resolve all the outstanding issues," he said.

The IAEA's inquiry focuses specifically on what it calls the possible military dimensions of Iran's atomic activities, notably whether it has worked on designing a nuclear warhead, a charge it denies.

"I can understand the expectation from many countries and people to accelerate the process, and I myself would like to see a speeding up," Amano, the IAEA's director general, told a news conference.

"Iran has engaged with the agency substantively, including in the clarification of issues related to the use of exploding bridge wire detonators," he earlier told a closed-door meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors.

The Islamic Republic says its uranium enrichment programme is a peaceful energy project, but the West fears it may be aimed at developing a nuclear weapons capability. Western diplomats have long accused Iran of stonewalling the IAEA's investigation.

U.S. officials say it is vital for Iran to address the IAEA's concerns if the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia are to reach a long-term accord with Iran, setting a framework for its nuclear activity and ending international sanctions.

If needed, the sides can agree to extend the negotiations beyond the July target date, and some experts say this is looking increasingly likely in view of the big differences that need to be bridged.