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UN atomic agency to hold December talks with Iran

Dunya News

UN atomic agency will hold talks next month with Iran since August over Tehran's nuclear efforts.

The UN atomic agency said Friday it will hold next month its first talks with Iran since August over Tehrans nuclear efforts, in a first sign of renewed diplomatic activity since the US election.The aim is to conclude the structured approach to resolving outstanding issues related to Irans nuclear programme, International Atomic Energy Agency spokeswoman Gill Tudor said in confirming the December 13 meeting.The Vienna-based IAEA wants Tehran to address evidence suggesting that until 2003, and possibly since, Iran conducted research work relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device.A parallel diplomatic push by six world powers has been aimed at persuading Iran to scale back parts of its current nuclear programme because of suspicions -- denied by Tehran -- that it wants the bomb.Efforts on both tracks have, however, effectively been on hold in recent months because of campaigning for the US presidential election that incumbent Barack Obama won Tuesday.The last high-level talks between Iran and the P51 -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany -- took place in Moscow in June.The (US) administration was in a very defensive position for the past six months, Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said this week. It was also difficult for Iran because they didnt want to negotiate with someone who might not be in office after November.Analysts and diplomats told AFP after Obamas re-election this week that a new round of P51 talks was possible before the end of the year or in early 2013. Experts also see bilateral US-Iranian talks as possible.However, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said there were no plans yet for a meeting of the P51 group, and again categorically denied as ridiculous reports of secret talks between Washington and Tehran.