Iran said on Thursday the latest round of talks with UN inspectors to resolve remaining issues over its peaceful nuclear work were “positive and constructive“.
Experts from the two sides on Wednesday wrapped up three days of talks aimed at removing concerns about Iran’s uranium enrichment program.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s ambassador to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, told ISNA, “Technical and expert discussions were held in a positive and constructive atmosphere.“
Soltanieh did not elaborate on issues discussed in the talks with Hermann Naeckerts, who is head of the UN watchdog’s safeguards inspections in the Middle East.
In Vienna, an IAEA spokeswoman declined comment on the talks, saying results would be in the agency’s next report on Iran due in a week to 10 days’ time.
Soltanieh and the IAEA’s global safeguards director, Olli Heinonen, held two rounds of talks in Tehran last month on allegations surrounding the uranium enrichment activities.
“I doubt further talks with the IAEA will continue in the coming days but it depends on the IAEA’s studies. If the IAEA wants, we will continue talks,“ he said.
Tehran, under three rafts of UN Security Council sanctions over its uranium enrichment activities, has turned down western calls to abandon the atomic work.
Iran stresses its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes and there is no ground for the western demand to halt Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Iranian officials have delivered “Iran’s proposed package for constructive negotiations“ which--besides Iran“s vision on how to settle global problems such as effective fight against terrorism--also includes the nuclear issue.
The package was on Tuesday sent by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and a copy of it to foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Another copy was sent to European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.
While guaranteeing the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear projects and its readiness to hold talks with the five veto-wielding powers plus Germany, Mottaki once again rejected in the package the main western demand of suspending uranium enrichment.
Mottaki further criticized the United Nations for “ignoring reports by the IAEA on Iran’s nuclear programs and referring the dossier to the Security Council“ which eventually led to three resolutions and financial sanctions against Tehran .
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday in a press conference in Tehran that the details of the package would be disclosed in Iran by the end of next month.

The Red Cross on Friday launched an appeal for victims of the devastating cyclone in Myanmar and warned that delays in providing emergency aid would exacerbate an already dire situation.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called for about 50 million Swiss francs (50.8 million dollars, 32.7 million euros) in funds to provide aid in the wake of the disaster that has claimed more than 43,000 lives, according to official figures, Alalam reported.
Thomas Gurtner, Red Cross director of program and coordination, said time is running out to save victims of the cyclone and aid agencies should step up their efforts.
Gurtner told reporters in Geneva: “We are certainly going to see a further aggravation of the situation, further destitution among an already very hard-hit population. The harvest is already lost.“
Despite intense lobbying, Myanmar’s secretive junta--which deeply mistrusts any outside influence--has repeatedly refused to allow in experts that aid groups say are urgently needed to get assistance to the flooded Irrawaddy Delta region. The Red Cross, meanwhile, is also looking at adapting to the rainy season, with seaborne aid such as floating warehouses and landing craft, similar to what was used in the Asian tsunami, being considered.

The White House announced major new cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia on Friday as US President George W. Bush made his second visit to the oil superpower this year.
The agreements cover cooperation on civil nuclear power and protecting the kingdom’s oil infrastructure which has come under attack by Islamist militants, AFP reported.
ÇThe Saudis bear a special responsibility for protecting key energy facilities of global importance and the world benefits from their abundant energy supplies,È a White House statement said.
ÇOur global economy depends greatly on Saudi Arabian energy. The United States has a keen interest in helping the Saudis protect their energy infrastructure against terrorism, as demonstrated by the unsuccessful terrorist attack against the kingdom’s Abqaiq plants in February 2006,È it said.
ÇTo this end, the United States and Saudi Arabia have agreed to cooperate in safeguarding the kingdom’s energy resources by protecting key infrastructure, enhancing Saudi border security, and meeting Saudi Arabia’s expanding energy needs in an environmentally responsible manner.È
Saudi Arabia sits on around a quarter of the world’s oil reserves and is by far its biggest producer with an output of some nine million barrels per day.
The White House said Washington and Riyadh were also to sign an agreement on nuclear cooperation that would clear the way for Saudi Arabia to receive enriched uranium for its reactors, without the need to master the fuel nuclear cycle itself as Iran has done.
ÇThis agreement will pave the way for Saudi Arabia’s access to safe, reliable fuel sources for energy reactors and demonstrate Saudi leadership as a positive non-proliferation model for the region,È it said.
Washington charges that Iran’s nuclear program is cover for a drive to develop an atomic weapon, a charge denied by Tehran.

Hundreds of thousands of French teachers and other public sector workers went on strike on Thursday to protest against job cuts and reforms announced by conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government.
It was the third broad public sector strike since Sarkozy took office a year ago promising reforms to reinvigorate the economy. Unions are already planning a bigger strike on May 22 involving a larger chunk of the workforce, Reuters reported.
Teachers and students marched through central Paris in a demonstration that flowed through some of the French capital’s biggest boulevards. Police estimated the number of marchers at 18,000 while organizers put the figure at more than 50,000.
The main issue in Thursday’s protests was a plan to shed 11,200 jobs in education, including over 8,000 teaching posts, by not replacing one out of two retiring employees.