Iran Asks to Renew EU Talks
Seeking to defuse tensions over its nuclear program, Iran on Sunday confirmed that it had let U.N. inspectors visit a military complex and called for a revival of European Union talks on the issue.
Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, said that Tehran had written to Britain, France and Germany, calling for the resumption of negotiations that broke down in August.
IRNA said the letter by Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was handed to the ambassadors of the three EU powers, who have led talks with Tehran.
When the International Atomic Energy Agency meets this month, it may discuss referring Iran’s nuclear case to the U.N. Security Council.
In a further sign Iran wants to avoid confrontation, it confirmed that it had allowed United Nations nuclear inspectors to visit a military base that the U.S. suspects is linked to a covert nuclear arms program.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Sunday that IAEA inspectors had been allowed to revisit the military facility at Parchin.
The IAEA has been seeking greater access to the complex, where the U.S. and others suspect that scientists may have experimented with the kind of explosives used in nuclear bombs.
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