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by Staff Writers Vienna (AFP) May 15, 2012 Closely-watched talks between Iran and the UN nuclear agency went into their scheduled final day on Tuesday, with Tehran's envoy quoted as saying that so far the meeting had been "good." The official news agency IRNA quoted Iranian ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh as saying as he went into the negotiations in Vienna that the first day had been "good" and "constructive." On Monday, International Atomic Energy Agency chief inspector Hermann Nackaerts had said he wanted to press Iran in the talks here for "access to people, documents, information and sites" in its contested nuclear programme. In particular Nackaerts wants Iran to address claims made in an extensive IAEA report in November that at least until 2003, and possibly since, there were activities which could only conceivably be aimed at developing a nuclear bomb. He also wants access to the Parchin military base near Tehran where the IAEA report said Iran had conducted explosives tests in a metal container. In two visits to Tehran in January and February, branded a "failure" by Washington, the IAEA said Iran denied Nackaerts access to Parchin and dismissed out of hand the claims made in the report as based on forgeries. Western countries accuse Iran of removing evidence at Parchin. Soltanieh said in March that any allegations of "sanitization" of the site were "a childish (and) ridiculous story." Iran and the P5+1 -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany -- held their first talks in 15 months in Istanbul in mid-April, and agreed to more in-depth discussions in Baghdad on May 23. It was unclear what time the meeting in Vienna would end.
Iran urges West to 'correct its manner' ahead of talks "If the West corrects its manners and respects the Iranian people, in return it will gain the respect of the Iranians," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in the northeastern city of Qoochan where he is on a provincial tour. "They should know that the Iranian nation will not retreat a step over its fundamental right," he said, reiterating the Islamic republic's position over its nuclear drive which the West suspects is masking a weapons programme. Iran vehemently denies the charge. Ahmadinejad also stressed the rationale for nuclear weaponry. "No intelligent human being would spend money on building a nuclear weapon," he argued. "If the leaders (of nuclear powers) were intelligent, they would spend their people's money on improving the lives of their citizens." The Baghdad dialogue on May 23 comes after Iran and the world powers resumed negotiations over Tehran's atomic programme in Istanbul in April after a hiatus of more than a year. Several Iranian officials have aired remarks similar to what Ahmadinejad said as the dialogue between Tehran and the world powers nears. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Monday said that Tehran will "welcome" a Baghdad meeting which is not influenced by "pressure and preconditions." "If 5+1 intends to cooperate in a positive atmosphere in the talks, we will welcome such negotiations. Fortunately there was a positive atmosphere in Istanbul which formed a basis for talks founded on Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This is a good framework," Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by Fars news agency. "According to NPT we have some obligations and some rights that we should enjoy. But we have to wait until the Baghdad talks for the details of the agreement," he added. The Iranian media also reported late Sunday that Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, had told visiting former French prime minister Michel Rocard that "any kind of wrong calculations by the West will not yield success in the talks." "In Baghdad we are awaiting actions to secure the Iranian people's trust," Jalili was quoted as saying.
Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
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