Tehran, November 18: ElBaradei confirmed “the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran” in its latest report on Monday.
The UN nuclear watchdog has rejected a recent story by The Times on secret negotiations between the United Nations and Iranian officials about a nuclear deal.
“These allegations are entirely baseless. It is regrettable that The Times should publish such a story without any effort to make a critical assessment of its source,” said Gill Tudor, a spokesperson for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in a statement on Tuesday.
In an article on Tuesday, The Times claimed the UN and Iranian officials have been secretly negotiating an IAEA-brokered deal to persuade world powers to lift sanctions and allow Tehran to retain the bulk of its nuclear program in return for cooperation with the UN inspectors.
It said the draft document was drawn up in September by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei in an effort to break the stalemate over Iran’s nuclear program before he stands down at the end of November.
The Times published the article a day after the IAEA in its latest report once again confirmed “the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran”.
Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), says its activities are aimed at the civilian applications of the technology.
Tehran faces pressure to halt its nuclear enrichment as world powers claim the program is aimed at building an atom bomb.
The Islamic Republic says nuclear weapons have no place in its defensive doctrine and has called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction from across the globe.
—–Agencies