Iranian FM says G5+1 not arbitrator

TEHRAN - Iran's Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said Sunday that G5+1 (including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) is not the arbitrator on Iran's nuclear issue, the official IRNA news agency reported.  

"G5+1 is not the source of arbitration on Iran's nuclear activities and only International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the major source of arbitration in this regard," Salehi was quoted as saying.

The recent trip of the IAEA team to Iran has nothing to do with G5+1, he told reporters on Sunday.  

The high-ranking delegation of the IAEA held talks with Iranian officials on the controversial nuclear program of the country here last week.

"In the recent trip of the IAEA delegation to Iran and during the talks, the first step was taken to decrease the differences and to enhance shared points," Salehi said according to IRNA.

The IAEA team will make another trip to Iran three weeks later, he said adding that both sides will continue the talks in order to reach "an understanding and shared points."

"The Islamic Republic has announced its viewpoints to the IAEA delegation and they should take the next steps in their next trip to Iran," said the Iranian foreign minister.

The IAEA said last Wednesday that another meeting between the UN nuclear watchdog and Iran over its nuclear program will take place in Tehran from February 21 to February 22.

"The Agency is committed to intensifying dialogue. It remains essential to make progress on substantive issues," IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said in a statement.

The announcement came after a high-ranking IAEA delegation returned to the agency's headquarters in Vienna following a trip to Iran.

"The IAEA explained its concerns and identified its priorities, which focus on the clarification of possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," Amano said.

During the newly-concluded talks, the IAEA also discussed with Iran the topics and initial steps to be taken, as well as associated modalities, he added.

The spirit dominating the three-day talks between Iranian officials and the IAEA team was "positive and constructive," Iran's official IRNA news agency said last Tuesday, quoting an unnamed source.

The report also said the IAEA delegation, headed by chief inspector Herman Nackaerts, did not visit or inspect any nuclear site in Iran.

The talks were held behind closed doors and no details about its process or outcome were released.

Last November, the board of the IAEA adopted a resolution on Iran's nuclear program suspected of having weapons-related activities, and called for intensified dialogue to find solutions to unresolved issues.

However, Iran has said the resolution will not stop its nuclear program which it insists is peaceful in nature despite the West's accusation of military purposes.