VIENNA – Iran's new atomic energy chief pledged increased cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog on Monday, delivering a conciliatory message ahead of talks between the two sides this month over Tehran's disputed atomic activities. Ali Akbar Salehi also said Iran was optimistic about the outcome of broader diplomatic negotiations with major powers, should the parties enter “with good intention and with the resolve to solving the ... issue based on a win-win approach.” The election in June of a relative moderate, Hassan Rohani, as Iranian president and his appointments of senior officials involved in nuclear diplomacy had created a “like-minded group” that would “facilitate the resolution of this issue” if the other side was willing, he said. “There has always been a movement from the Iranian side. This time we are coming with a more full-fledged ... desire for this,” Salehi said, referring to the search for a peaceful settlement of the decade-old nuclear dispute. Iran is at odds in particular with Western powers, which fear its nuclear program is covertly directed at giving it the means to build nuclear bombs, something Tehran denies. Salehi's comments, in a speech at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and to reporters afterwards, were in line with the less confrontational signals coming from Tehran since Rohani succeeded hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president. But, like Rohani, Salehi stressed that Iran would never “compromise” over what Iran sees as its inalienable right to a civilian nuclear energy program. He also declined to say whether Iran would be willing to halt its higher-grade uranium enrichment, the part of its nuclear program that most worries the West as it is only a short technical step away from the production of weapons-grade material. “These are issues that will be discussed during the negotiations,” Salehi told reporters. In Moscow, Russia's foreign minister said Iran was ready to discuss this higher-level enrichment, to a fissile purity of 20 percent, in talks with the six world powers - Russia, the United States, China, France, Britain and Germany. “This would be a very important step. It is of fundamental importance that the six powers react adequately to this potential agreement,” Sergei Lavrov said. No date has yet been set for a resumption of talks between Tehran and the six powers, but the issue may be discussed on the sidelines of next week's UN General Assembly meeting in New York. Western diplomats have welcomed Iran's change of tone but said it remained to be seen whether there would also be a change in substance. At the annual IAEA member state meeting, the United States accused Iran of continuing to take “provocative” actions in its nuclear program, probably referring to the further expansion of its uranium enrichment program. – Reuters
