By RIA Novosti
Vienna : Iran has not yet provided the UN nuclear watchdog with convincing guarantees that its nuclear programme is not weapons-oriented, but is cooperating with weapons inspectors, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Monday.
Speaking in Vienna on the opening day of its 51st general conference, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said Tehran was also providing additional information on its nuclear programme.
Iran, which Western countries suspect of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons programme, recently intensified cooperation with the IAEA, and invited weapons inspectors to visit a 40-MW heavy water reactor in Arak in late July.
ElBaradei earlier called Iran’s recent moves “a step in the right direction”.
Iran has defied three consecutive UN resolutions against its nuclear programme since last year. The six negotiating countries – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – have demanded that Tehran suspend all uranium enrichment before talking of a solution to the dispute.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced in early April the start of uranium enrichment on an industrial scale.
Five new countries – Bahrain, Burundi, Congo, Nepal and Cape Verde – joined the IAEA on the opening of the Vienna conference, which will run till Sep 22.