Members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in a statement reiterated their support for Iran’s inalienable right to use peaceful nuclear technology.
In its statement read by Iran’s Residing Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Reza Najafi in Vienna on Wednesday, the bloc of 120 nations at the IAEA said Iran’s right to use peaceful nuclear technology must be respected.
The movement underlined that every nation is entitled to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
“Choices and decisions of countries, including those of the Islamic Republic’s, in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear technology and fuel cycle policies must be respected,” the statement said.
The NAM also renewed its call for turning the Middle East into a nuclear weapons-free zone, saying the move could pave the way for global nuclear disarmament.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) are scheduled to hold an expert-level meeting in Vienna on Wednesday.
“Foreign Ministry’s Director-General for Political and International Affairs Hamid Baeedinejad will lead Iran’s negotiating team in the talks with the world powers,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi said on the sidelines of the 15th Meeting of the Assembly of Experts on Tuesday.
Araqchi said the talks in Vienna on Wednesday will focus on specialized and technical issues and will “actually be a prelude to the upcoming March 17-20 talks” between senior Iranian and world powers’ negotiators.
Araqchi added that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton and political directors of the G5+1 will take part in the March 17-20 talks.
The experts talks between Iran and the six world powers (the US, Russia, France, China and Britain plus Germany) will last for two days and end on Friday.
The meeting will be held on the sidelines of the upcoming International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors session underway is Vienna.
Experts of the seven nations are slated to discuss Iran’s uranium enrichment, removal of sanctions and technical nuclear cooperation in their meeting.
IAEA Director General Yukio Amano in his recent report on Iran announced that Tehran is complying with its obligations under the deal it struck with the six world powers last November.
In his new report released on Thursday, Amano said 20-percent uranium enrichment “is no longer taking place” by Iran as agreed in an agreement with the six world powers.
According to a deal which took effect on January 20, the six countries undertook to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period.
Iran and the world power also agreed that no nuclear-related sanctions will be imposed on Iran during the same period.
The report also confirmed that no additional uranium enrichment centrifuges have been installed at Iran’s Natanz and Fordo nuclear facilities.
Iran has also provided the IAEA with an updated Design Information Questionnaire (DIQ) for the facility in Arak.
“The measures implemented by Iran and the further commitments it has undertaken represent a positive step forward,” the IAEA report said.
The IAEA report was released as Iran and the six powers concluded talks in Vienna and agreed to meet again on March 17.
He further noted the part of agreement which is seen as an important concession by Iran, and stressed, “We have stopped the 20% enrichment because we didn’t need it (any more).”
On November 24, Iran and the world powers sealed a six-month Joint Plan of Action to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear energy program. In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the Sextet of world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran and continue talks with the country to settle all problems between the two sides.
Then after several rounds of experts talks on how to enforce the agreement, Iran and the six major world powers finalized an agreement on ways to implement the deal.
Based on the deal, Iran halted its 20-percent enrichment activity in January.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi underlined that Iran’s enrichment right has been clearly stipulated in the Geneva accord sealed by Tehran and the six major world powers late in November, adding that the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) had already granted the right to the country, however.
