A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iranian officials wrapped up their latest round of talks on Iran's nuclear program on Thursday in Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

 

In their three-day talks, the IAEA delegation was headed by the agency's Deputy Director-General Olli Heinonen and the Iranian side was led by deputy head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Javad Vaeedi.

 

After the talks, Vaeedi expressed satisfaction with the trend of talks between Iran and the IAEA, saying that negotiations between the two sides would continue at the expert level next week.

 

The two sides had held very extensive talks during the past three days on ways to resolve issues pertaining to P1 and P2 centrifuges, Vaeedi said.

 

Tehran is prepared to respond to the IAEA's questions related to its P1 and P2 centrifuges and answers will be finalized in a session in Tehran in mid October, IRNA reported, quoting unidentified "sources."

 

The IAEA will study the answers in late October, summing up Iran's answers to questions on P1 and P2 centrifuges before presenting its final assessment, IRNA said.

 

The new round of Iran-IAEA talks is being held based on an agreement reached between the two sides in August which called for removing all outstanding issues on Iran's nuclear program upon a specified time-table.

 

The UN Security Council has adopted two resolutions -- one in December 2006 and the other in March this year -- to force Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities and to give up its nuclear program.

 

The US and other Western nations have constantly accused Tehran of developing a nuclear weapon program under the guise of a civilian-use program, which was repeatedly denied by Iran.

 

Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and voiced hope for talks to defuse the nuclear standoff.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2007)