IAEA chief says visit to Iran 'useful'

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Sunday that his brief visit to Iran and talks with top Iranian officials were "useful", as he offered new proposals to boost cooperation between the UN nuclear watchdog and the Islamic republic, a media report here said.

Visiting IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano praised Iran's high- ranking officials for underscoring their commitments to the cooperation framework between Iran and the IAEA, hoping that all the remaining ambiguities over Iran's nuclear programme could be solved soon based on an agreement signed in November 2013.

The agreement outlined a roadmap on their cooperation on certain outstanding nuclear issues.

Amano also said that the IAEA is committed to helping resolve past and present issues through mutual cooperation, for which he offered some new proposals that are expected to be implemented in the near future.

After meeting the IAEA chief, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said "Iran is serious in its nuclear talks with the world powers as well as with the IAEA, and it does not want anything beyond its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes".

The president added that with serious goodwill on both sides aiming to resolve the remaining issues around Iran's nuclear program, Iran and the IAEA can conclude their talks in less than a year.