China urges more Iran-IAEA interaction

China has called on Iran to improve its cooperation with the IAEA, after the agency reconfirmed the non-diversion of nuclear material in Iran in its latest report.

“We hope Iran will further step up cooperation with the IAEA and resolve the pending issues at an early date,” foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told reporters on Tuesday.

“We hope relevant parties can seize the opportunities, step up diplomatic efforts and seek an early resumption of dialogue and negotiations,” he added.

In a Monday report, the International Atomic Energy Agency once again verified the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran.

However, it called on Iran to increase its cooperation with the IAEA and abide by UN Security Council resolutions to suspend uranium enrichment.

The Chinese foreign ministry further “appreciated” the IAEA report, which failed to mention the recent declaration issued by Iran, Turkey and Brazil for providing nuclear fuel for the Tehran research reactor.

Based on the declaration, Iran agreed to send some 1,200 kg of low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for a total of 120 kg of higher enriched uranium for the research reactor.

In an interview with Press TV, Iran’s Ambassador to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh said Tehran was surprised to see the report fail to cover the Tehran nuclear declaration.

The report raised “repetitive” issues, which damaged the IAEA credibility, Soltanieh said.