No future meeting was scheduled.
The meeting, held Friday, was part of the effort by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to convince Iran to allow the nuclear watchdog access to documentation, to nuclear scientists and to suspect sites in Iran as part of the IAEA mandate to learn more about Iran’s nuclear program.
Herman Nackaerts, the deputy director general of the IAEA and chief inspector, said after the meeting in Vienna, “Discussions today were intensive. But important differences remain between Iran and the agency that prevented agreement. At the moment, we have no plans for another meeting.”
Iranian officials, however, told reporters great progress was made in the talks.
Ali-Asghar Soltanieh, the Islamic Republic’s ambassador to the IAEA, was decidedly upbeat. “I have to say that we are moving forward and this meeting, in fact, was an indication that we can work with the agency closely and we are going to continue the process.”
