IAEA closer to enhancing transparency of Iran's disputed nuclear program

The UN nuclear watchdog chief said Friday he now has "a better understanding on some ways forward" over enhancing the transparency of Iran's controversial nuclear activities.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Ali Shamkhani, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in Tehran on Thursday.

Amano visited Iran in the context of the IAEA's continued engagement with Iran and EU+3 countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- as they work toward a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

"I believe that both sides have a better understanding on some ways forward, though more work will be needed," Amano said.

It is believed that Amano's Iran visit aims to find a solution to the past so-called "possible military dimensions" of Iranian nuclear activities and to enhance the monitoring measures on Iran's current and future nuclear plan.

EU+3 countries want strengthened monitoring measures to ensure that Tehran complies with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and its commitment to the comprehensive deal once the accord is agreed on.

"In the course of the meetings, the two sides reached a general understanding about the timetable (and) continuation of cooperation by taking into account Iran and the agency's considerations for accelerating the settlement of the past issues," Iran's Ambassador to the IAEA Reza Najafi was quoted by Iranian media as saying.

Najafi also noted that "coordination meetings" will be held soon to define the details and the timetable for measures the two sides would take at the level of experts.

But it is still unclear whether the visit has led to substantial progress, as Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said before the talks that UN inspectors would not be allowed to visit military sites.

The IAEA has long been asking Iran to grant the nuclear inspectors access to some military sites to verify if nuclear-related activities have taken place there, a request Tehran sees as an excessive demand beyond the NPT safeguards agreement and Iran's obligation. Endi