By Xinhua
Vienna : Iran agreed to answer to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) all remaining questions about its previous nuclear activities by mid-February, the IAEA said on Sunday.
“Agreement was reached on the timeline for implementation of all the remaining verification issues specified in the work plan. According to the agreed schedule, implementation of the work plan should be completed in the next four weeks,” the IAEA said in a statement.
Iran has also provided ElBaradei with new information about the development of its centrifuge, which is used for advancing uranium enrichment, the agency said.
The agreement came after IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei’s two-day visit to Iran, the first in over one and a half years. During the visit, he urged Iran to beef up cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog in answering questions about its nuclear drive.
The visit came as the international community was discussing a new round of sanctions against Tehran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment activities.
Iran had agreed with a nuclear “work plan” last August to clear up issues about its nuclear past by the end of 2007, but failed to meet the deadline.
The IAEA expected that Iran’s answers for the remaining questions would help make a final judgement on the investigation of the country’s nuclear activities.
After more than four years of investigation, the IAEA still cannot decide whether Tehran’s nuclear program was just for peaceful purposes or not.
In his last report released in mid-November, ElBaradei said, “Iran has made substantial progress in revealing the nature and extent of its disputed nuclear program, but needs to be more pro-active in providing information.”
The United States has accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran denied the accusation, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
The U.N. Security Council has adopted two resolutions, one in December 2006 and the other in March of 2007, to force Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities and to give up its nuclear programs.