VIENNNA, Austria, June 1 (UPI) -- The U.N. atomic watchdog agency is asking Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and accept the U.S. invitation for nuclear talks.
The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency called on Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, the condition set by the United States for joining in talks aimed at ensuring Iran's nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
IAEA Director-General Mohammed ElBaradei welcomed the U.S. announcement Wednesday of its readiness to join the European Union-led talks "once Iran responds positively to the agency's Board of Governor's call for the suspension of enrichment-related and reprocessing activities as a confidence-building measure.
"ElBaradei strongly encourages Iran to create the conditions necessary for the resumption of these talks, with U.S. participation, with a view to achieving a comprehensive settlement that is acceptable to both the international community and Iran," the agency added in a statement.
ElBaradei, who has consistently called for diplomacy to resolve suspicions that Iran's atomic program is aimed at producing nuclear weapons, discussed the issue with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington last week.
Earlier this year, the IAEA referred the issue to the U.N. Security Council, which can impose sanctions, after ElBaradei reported that although the agency had not seen any diversion of material to nuclear weapons or other explosive devices, it was still not able to conclude there were no undeclared Iranian nuclear materials or activities.
Iran says its activities are solely for energy purposes but the United States and other countries insist it is clandestinely seeking to produce nuclear weapons.
Last August, Iran rescinded its voluntary suspension of nuclear fuel conversion, which can produce the enriched uranium necessary either for nuclear power generation or for nuclear weapons.
