TEHRAN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran's nuclear chief said on Wednesday coordination between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was "progressing."
President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami made the remarks in an address to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting in the Iranian capital Tehran, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.
He expressed hope that the "same progressing trend" would continue between Iran and the agency, so that "the (poisoned) atmosphere created by the enemies against the Iranian nuclear industry could be broken, preventing further disruption by them (in the country's nuclear program)."
According to Eslami, a deputy of IAEA's Director General Rafael Grossi, whose name was not mentioned, was in Tehran and met with him and AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi last week.
Iran says its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful and mainly aimed at power generation and production of radiopharmaceuticals.
The country signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to put some curbs on its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. The United States, however, pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed its unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its nuclear commitments under the deal.
The talks on the revival of the JCPOA began in April 2021 in Vienna, Austria. Despite several rounds of talks, no significant breakthrough has been achieved since the end of the last round in August 2022. ■
