Iran Starts Implementing Nuclear Measures Ahead Of Deadline

Aug 19, 2014 10:25 AM EDT

(Photo : Reuters / Carlos Barria) Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attends a news conference at a hotel after the fourth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit, in Shanghai May 22, 2014.

The head of United Nations nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran already started implementing the five transparency measures it recommended ahead of its August 25 deadline.

Iran and the IAEA agreed on the said measures three months ago. The long-term probe into Tehran's alleged atomic bomb research is seen as a major deal that would help dispel the fears of a new war in the Middle East, the World Bulletin reported.

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After speaking with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said he expected to see progress on the five measures by Monday. He said this after securing Tehran's commitment to work with them in the investigation.

One of the issues being investigated is the possible military dimensions (PMD) of the nuclear program of Iran. Although the latter denied the program's military objectives, it also vowed to cooperate with the IAEA to address its concerns.

Iran allegedly experimented on explosives that could be used to detonate an atomic device. It also conducted studies about calculating the yields of nuclear explosives.

In 2011, the IAEA issued a report with information indicating Iran halted a weapons program in 2003 under pressure from the international community. Intelligence in the report also suggested Tehran resumed some of the activities related to the program.

In May this year, Iran handed IAEA the information it requested on Tehran's reasons for its nuclear development program. The UN watchdog received the information after years of Iran's stalling.

Amano conveyed optimism in the probe after he met with Rouhani in Tehran, but there are no guarantees that Iran would be able to meet the deadline for all the nuclear measures.

Last month, the IAEA said it was worried about Iran's sluggish progress in the probe. Amano called on Iran to "accelerate" its cooperation with the nuclear watchdog in its investigation.

TagsIran, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, World Bulletin, Hassan Rouhani, Yukiya Amano, Tehran