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UN chief urges Iran to cooperate fully with IAEA on nuclear issues

17 February 2012 18:28 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. UN General-Secretary Ban Ki-moon said Friday that Iran should fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) , in order to clarify controversial aspects of the country’s nuclear program, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"I am deeply concerned by the latest IAEA report indicating that there may be the possibility of a military dimension in Iranian nuclear development programs," Ban told a press conference in Vienna.

Ban said that he has been urging Iranian President Ahmadinejad and all senior authorities of the Iranian government that "the onus is on the Iranian side to prove, to convince the international community that their nuclear development program is genuinely for peaceful purposes."

Meanwhile, Ban said all outstanding issues should be resolved peacefully through negotiation and dialogue. "There is no alternative to peaceful resolution on this issue," Ban stressed.

The IAEA sent a high-level team to Iran for talks with the country’s officials over nuclear issues last month.

Iran’s media reported that the IAEA delegation, headed by chief inspector Herman Nackaerts, did not visit or inspect any nuclear site in Iran. The spirit dominating the three-day talks was "positive and constructive," Iran’s official IRNA news agency said.

The IAEA has announced that another meeting between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog will take place in Tehran from February 20 to 21.