Vienna: The UN nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday it had failed to secure an agreement with Iran during two days of talks over disputed atomic activities and that the Islamic Republic had rejected a request to visit a key military site. In the second such trip in less than a month, a senior team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had travelled to Tehran to press Iranian officials to...
09:25 AM, Feb 22, 2012
Chennai: A two-member International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team completed the annual inspection of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) on Tuesday, said a senior official of the Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL). "The IAEA team went in around 8.30 am on Monday and completed the job around 1 am on Tuesday. Normally, it takes around two days for the inspection. But as the situation is abnormal at...
04:54 PM, Feb 21, 2012
Tehran: Senior UN inspectors arrived in Iran on Monday to push for transparency about its disputed nuclear program and several European states halted purchases of Iranian oil as part of Western moves to pile pressure on a defiant Tehran. Iran denies Western accusations that it is covertly seeking the means to build nuclear weapons and has again vowed no nuclear retreat in recent weeks, but also voiced willingness to resume...
07:41 AM, Feb 21, 2012
Tehran: Senior UN inspectors arrived in Iran on Monday to push for transparency about its disputed nuclear programme, a day after Tehran responded defiantly to tightened EU sanctions by halting oil sales to British and French companies. Iran denies Western allegations that it is covertly seeking the means to build nuclear weapons and has again vowed no nuclear retreat in recent weeks, but also voiced willingness to resume negotiations with...
09:09 PM, Feb 20, 2012
Vienna: Iran's apparent reluctance to let UN inspectors visit a military site near Tehran underlines the uphill task they face in convincing the Islamic state to address suspicions it may be seeking to develop nuclear weapons, Western diplomats say. They say the UN nuclear watchdog sought access to the Parchin complex during three days of talks in the Iranian capital, so far without any sign that Iran would agree to...
02:14 AM, Feb 04, 2012
Vienna: Senior United Nations nuclear inspectors will arrive in Tehran early on Sunday to press Iranian officials to address suspicions that the Islamic state is seeking atomic weapons. The UN International Atomic Energy Agency hopes Iran, which has indicated readiness to discuss the issue for the first time since 2008, will end years of stonewalling on intelligence pointing to an intention to develop nuclear arms technology. "We are trying to...
07:39 AM, Jan 29, 2012
Washington: The US has asked Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency when their inspectors visit the country, even as Tehran threatened to close down the strategic Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for oil sanctions. "We call on Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA on this trip," State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, said. "The IAEA is going in a constructive spirit, and it's asking Iran to display...
11:40 AM, Jan 24, 2012
Vienna: A senior UN nuclear agency team will visit Tehran on January 28 with Iran saying it is ready after years of refusal to discuss allegations that it was involved in secret nuclear weapons work, diplomats said Thursday. Diplomats have previously said that International Atomic Energy Agency officials were discussing such a trip with their Iranian counterparts. But before the diplomats' comments on Thursday, no date - or indication that...
03:37 AM, Jan 13, 2012
United Nations: Amid possibility of fresh sanctions by the US and EU against Iran, India has called for a "diplomatic solution" to any international concern over Tehran's nuclear programme, saying doors should be kept open for dialogue and to avoid confrontation. Addressing a United Nations Security Council briefing on Iran, senior official from the Indian mission Vinay Kumar said India has been consistently underlining the critical importance of continued dialogue...
05:04 AM, Dec 22, 2011
New Delhi: US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns has stressed the need for "levelling the playing field" for foreign and domestic companies in the country's civil nuclear industry. During his visit, Burns held wide-ranging talks with Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai on Monday and also stressed the importance of continuing the implementation of the US-India civil-nuclear deal during his talks. "The Deputy Secretary stressed, in particular, the importance of continuing...
08:38 PM, Dec 13, 2011
Melbourne: Calling the ruling Labor's decision to lift ban on uranium sale to India as "deeply significant", Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith on Monday said it would advance Canberra's interests and benefit its ties with the "emerging super power." Asserting that the global community has come to accept that India would not sign Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty, Smith, who was among those who supported Prime Minister Julia Gillard's bold move to...
09:01 PM, Dec 05, 2011
New Delhi: The government has sought assistance from the Operational Safety Review Team of the International Atomic Energy Agency for the safety reviews and audit of its nuclear power plants, said an official release on Friday. According top priority to the issue, the Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday reviewed the safety of nuclear power plants in India. The CCS was briefed on the steps taken since the radiation leak...
12:51 AM, Dec 03, 2011
Tehran: Iran will not stop its nuclear programme following the resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Xinhua reported Iranian officials as saying. The IAEA board on Friday adopted a resolution on Iran's disputed nuclear programme, calling for intensified dialogue to find solutions to unresolved issues. While voicing "deep and increasing concern" over the country's nuclear programme, the UN atomic watchdog said it was "essential" for Iran and...
09:03 AM, Nov 20, 2011
Tehran: The Iranian army is conducting a four-day training exercise to test its defences, state TV reported on Saturday, amid rising international tensions over Iran's nuclear programme. Press TV said the war games started on Friday and were taking place over 800,000 square km in the east of the country. "The initial stage of the drills will assess the units' performance in setting up primary and secondary command centres and...
12:11 AM, Nov 20, 2011
Washington: The United States has said that the IAEA resolution that holds Iran accountable for its failure to cooperate on its nuclear programme sends a strong and unified message to Tehran. "The world has sent a clear and unified message to Tehran that it is deeply troubled by the evidence revealed in last week's report by Director General Amano," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday. "This report supplied...
11:59 AM, Nov 19, 2011
Vienna: The UN nuclear watchdog board censured Iran on Friday over mounting suspicions it is trying to develop atomic bombs, but Tehran said the move would only strengthen its determination to press on with sensitive work. "Iran will not bow to pressure," said Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency. In a sign of worsening ties with the UN body, he said Iran would boycott rare...
12:47 AM, Nov 19, 2011
Vienna: Iran should clarify outstanding issues concerning some aspects of the country's nuclear programme suspected of involving nuclear weapon-related technologies, said Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "I ask Iran to engage substantively with the Agency (IAEA) without delay and provide the requested clarifications regarding possible military dimensions to its nuclear programme," Xinhua quoted Amano as stating in his introductory statement during a meeting of the...
03:59 AM, Nov 18, 2011
New Delhi: With the IAEA coming out with a damning report against Iran on its atomic programme, India on Thursday said it was a "disturbing" development and made it clear that it did not want a nuclear-armed Iran. "It is disturbing," official sources said while commenting on the UN nuclear watchdog's report that Iran carried out "activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device". The sources said if...
10:19 PM, Nov 17, 2011
Vienna: Western states will try this week to overcome divisions with Russia over a UN nuclear report on Iran, hoping to show big power unity that will pile pressure on Tehran to address growing fears that it wants atomic bombs. But Western diplomats fear they may have to choose between a tough stance that alienates Russia and China and a gentler, more inclusive approach which they say does not reflect...
03:58 AM, Nov 16, 2011
Kapolei, Hawaii: Defending his efforts to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions, President Barack Obama said on Sunday that economic sanctions against Tehran had "enormous bite" and that he would consult with other nations on additional steps to ensure that Iran does not acquire an atomic weapon. Obama expressed confidence that Russia and China in particular understood the threat a nuclear armed Iran would pose, and said their leaders agreed that Iran...
10:11 AM, Nov 14, 2011
