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Western powers on Thursday told Iran that it must cooperate with the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigation team looking into suspected nuclear weapon research conducted by the country if it wants an expansive nuclear deal which would lift some sanctions.
The warning was given out after a board meeting of the IAEA at Vienna, as negotiators from six world powers and Iran prepared to resume discussion after taking a break for two months.
Iran’s envoy to the UN Reza Najafi dismissed the accusations regarding Iran’s nuclear program as “mere allegations … without any substantiation” but added that a new meeting will be held with the IAEA sometime soon to discuss the matter.
A stalled IAEA inquiry into the matter could further complicate the efforts made by the six nations to agree to a settlement with Iran on restraining its nuclear program in exchange for a step-by-step phasing out of the financial and other measures which are hurting the Iranian economy.
The European Union and the United States have stated that they were concerned with the slow progress made so far in the long-running investigation into suspicions of Iran designing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied the charge and said that it is Israel’s assumption which threatens peace in the Middle East.
In an IAEA report published in September, the UN watchdog said that Iran did not answer questions on what it calls the possible military dimensions of the nuclear program by the August 25th deadline.
In the IAEA meeting, the EU said in a statement that it was very disappointed with the “very limited progress” in the inquiry.
“The EU underlines that resolving all outstanding issues (between Iran and the IAEA) will be essential to achieve a comprehensive, negotiated long-term settlement”, the statement read.
The EU was referring to the push made by Russia, the United States, China, Germany, Britain and France to negotiate a resolution to a much wider, almost decade-old dispute with Iran regarding its nuclear program.