BICOM

Two days of talks between representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iranian officials in Tehran ended yesterday with no apparent progress having been made towards an agreement on the inspection of Iranian nuclear facilities.

The IAEA, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, is particularly keen to visit the Parchin site south-east of Tehran, to investigate whether it has been used to test components needed to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran, which denies the allegations, has refused to grant IAEA inspectors access to Parchin.

It had been hoped that this week’s talks would result in a framework agreement that would allow IAE officials access to sites, officials and documents to examine the suspected military dimension of Iran’s nuclear programme at Parchin and elsewhere. However, IAEA representatives will return from Iran today with no indication that such an agreement is in sight. Although there was no official announcement, the Associated Press quotes an anonymous IAEA diplomat who said shortly before the talks ended that they were “not going well.” The Iranian media reported only that discussions would resume between the two sides on 12 February.

Parallel talks to reach a broader diplomatic settlement between Iran and the so-called P5+1 – the US, UK, China, Russia, France and Germany – who are tasked with leading the international effort to resolve concerns over Tehran’s nuclear programme, are expected to resume later this month. The two sides last met in June.