ElBaradei Meets Iranian President

TEHRAN (FNA) United Nations nuclear watchdog head Mohamed ElBaradei started talks Saturday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.

ElBaradei has been in Tehran since Friday to discuss settlement of all outstanding issues related to the country’s nuclear programs.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met earlier Saturday with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. There were no immediate reports about the meeting.

ElBaradei is also to meet later Saturday Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to exchange thoughts on what Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization head Gholam-Reza Aghazadeh termed ‘very important issues’ which could settle the nuclear dispute.

Aghazadeh had termed his Friday talks with the IAEA head as positive and declared Iran’s readiness to fully cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog ‘within a new phase’ to fully settle all outstanding issues.

ElBaradei termed the talks with Aghazadeh as friendly and frank, and said that both sides have stressed the need for Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog agency to intensify and accelerate cooperation before the agency’s board of governors meeting in March.