Iran: Amano visit must be unconditional

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should not impose conditions for visiting Iran, which is a member state.

Salehi, who is currently in Austria, told IRNA early on Tuesday that as the IAEA chief, Yukiya Amano “belongs to all member states” and his visit to Tehran must not be determined by conditions.

Amano had previously said he would consider visiting Iran at an appropriate time following concrete results in talks with the Islamic Republic.

On Monday, Salehi inaugurated Iran’s first embassy in Slovenia, hours after arriving in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana.

On his day-long visit to Slovenia, the Iranian foreign minister signed an agreement on the expansion of cultural ties between the two countries.

Following his visit to Slovenia, Salehi, travelled to Vienna, at the invitation of Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger, for the next leg of his first European tour.

During his stay in Vienna, the Iranian foreign minister will hold talks with Spindelegger and Amano.