No major progress in clarifying Iran's alleged nuclear bomb plans: IAEA

Xinhua

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The UN nuclear agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has made no major progress in verifying outstanding issues related to Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program, according to an official report shown on Thursday.

The confidential report obtained by Xinhua revealed that the IAEA has yet to receive information from Tehran on two outstanding issues related to the alleged nuclear bomb research, the so-called "possible military dimensions (PMDs)," which Iran denies.

"Iran has not provided any explanations that enable the Agency to clarify the two outstanding practical measures," the report said.

"These measures are related to the initiation of high explosives and to neutron transport calculations," the report noted.

However, Iran insists it is not responsible for the stalled investigation.

Iran and IAEA have held several rounds of talks to address unresolved issues concerning Tehran's nuclear plans, and both sides have agreed to cooperate in clarifying issues through step-by-step measures.

Iranian media reported that Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is to meet with the IAEA chief Yukiya Amano next week to discuss ongoing cooperation.

The report also confirmed that Iran was complying with its commitments under a deal agreed with the P5+1 Group (five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany), by suspending most of its disputed nuclear activities.

Iran and six world powers are holding parallel talks to seek a final deal over the decade-old Iranian nuclear issue.

Tehran wants western states to lift imposed sanctions while western states ask Tehran to significantly scale back its nuclear program to address their concerns.

Iran has always stressed its nuclear plans were solely for peaceful purposes, while western states suspect a possible military dimension. Enditem