DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - THE WEST/IRAN: "IRAN'S NUCLEAR BEHAVIOUR POSES A SERIOUS CONCERN IT MIGHT GAIN ABILITY TO BUILD ATOM BOMBS"

IAEA warns of Iran atomic risk amid EU-Teheran talks

VIENNA - Iran’s nuclear behaviour poses a serious concern it might gain the ability to build atom bombs, the UN atomic watchdog agency said on Monday as the EU had exploratory talks with Teheran it described as constructive.

A European Union official denied accounts from other diplomats that the Vienna talks between Iranian deputy nuclear negotiator Javad Vaeedi and Robert Cooper, a top aide to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, had been abortive.

‘Today’s working session was good; I consider it kind of constructive ... (but) it is completely true that you should not expect kind of a huge miracle,’ Vaeedi said after the 4 1/2-hour expert-level meeting, aimed at smoothing the way to more talks between Solana and Iranian chief negotiator Ali Larijani.

‘We made progress but also one cannot expect miracles in this business,’ Cooper told reporters alongside the Iranian.

There was no sign of headway towards settling the core dispute. Iran refuses to suspend its expanding nuclear fuel programme in exchange for a suspension in UN sanctions and negotiations on trade benefits offered by world powers.

Vienna-based diplomats had earlier said the talks broke off because Vaeedi refused to discuss issues of substance.

They said a meeting planned later on Monday between Vaeedi and two senior officials of the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was cancelled for the same reason.

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Pertinent Links:

1) IAEA warns of Iran atomic risk amid EU-Teheran talks