Iran not to stop uranium enrichment

Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali Asghar Soltanieh says the country will never stop its uranium enrichment program but hopes the upcoming talks with the agency in mid-May will be successful.

In an interview with Reuters published on Monday the Iranian envoy expressed hope that negotiations between Iran and the IAEA "will be very constructive and successful."

"The main purpose is to negotiate on a modality and framework to resolve outstanding issues and remove ambiguities," he said.

Asked whether the IAEA can visit the Parchin facility southeast of the capital city, Tehran, Soltanieh suggested that only after such a "framework" for future cooperation has been agreed upon, Iran may consider an IAEA request for access to the site.

"Every action will be implemented based on this framework, afterwards," he added.

Last Friday, Soltanieh announced that the new round of nuclear talks between Tehran and the IAEA would be held in Vienna on May 13 and 14.

"Following negotiations with the agency regarding the framework and modality for resolving the questions, it was agreed that the next round of talks be held in the Islamic Republic's permanent representation offices at international organizations, such as the IAEA, in Vienna," he added.

Soltanieh said the main aim of the talks would be to devise a framework for answering questions about Iran's nuclear energy program.


/PressTV/