IAEA Director to Visit Tehran

Rare and Unexpected Visit Days Before Baghdad Talks-
Raising Hopes for Resolution of Decade-Old Dispute

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano and top aides will travel to Tehran on Sunday on a rare and unexpected visit to the Iranian capital for talks with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and other senior officials, only a few days before the Baghdad talks between Iran and P5+1 on the future of Iranian nuclear program.

IAEA wants Iran to fully address concerns over possible military dimension to its nuclear program, a concern that will be at the heart of the talks in Baghdad on 23 May.

The last visit by an IAEA chief to Tehran was by Amano's predecessor, Mohamed ElBaradei, in October 2009. The IAEA and Iran held talks this week in Vienna and had been due to meet again on 21 May in the Austrian capital, but now the nuclear watchdog agency is sending its director to Tehran unexpectedly, raising hopes for a resolution to the decade-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.