ElBaradei Hopes to Resolve All Issues between Iran, IAEA

TEHRAN (FNA) A spokeswoman for the International Atomic Energy Agency Wednesday said that the UN nuclear watchdog chief, Mohamed ElBaradei is hopeful about resolving all issues remaining between Iran and IAEA during his upcoming visit to Tehran.

“He (ElBaradei) is hopeful that the Agency will be able to gain confidence in Iran’s past and present nuclear activities (during the visit),” The IAEA spokeswoman told FNA.

She also said that during his two-day visit, starting on Friday, ElBaradei will attend talks with a number of senior Iranian officials.

“The Secretary General is hopeful that during this visit, he will explore avenues to further promote implementation of safeguards in Iran,” the UN spokeswoman continued.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Sheikh Attar said earlier today that ElBaradei is slate to attend meetings with senior Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili and head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Gholam Reza Aghazadeh.

Sheikh Attar also stated that the upcoming visit to Iran by ElBaradei will be aimed at resolving the issues remaining between the two sides.