Iran’s ambassador to IAEA says scheduling of talks demonstrates country’s ‘cooperation;’ diplomats say Iran must answer about Parchin

Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Ali Asghar Soltanieh told IRNA Friday that a new round of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 Group, comprised of the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, will take place May 13-14 in Vienna.

The decision to hold the talks proves that Tehran intends to cooperate with the nuclear watchdog and that “claims against Iran are baseless,” Soltanieh told the Iranian news site. The meetings will be held in Iran’s permanent representative’s office in Vienna.

The last round of talks took place in Istanbul in early April. They were deemed a moderate success by the parties, mostly for the goodwill demonstrated, despite a lack of firm commitments by Iran. The next session had been scheduled for Baghdad on May 23.

IAEA diplomats said Iran will have to answer questions about its inspectors’ abilities to visit the military complex in Parchin, one of Iran’s most contested nuclear sites, located southeast of Tehran. IAEA inspectors who tried to visit the site in February 2012 were sent home by Iran. They were trying to inquire about high-explosives tests allegedly carried out there a few years ago. (© 2012 THE TIMES OF ISRAEL 04/28/12)