Yukiya Amano
Yukiya AmanoAFP/Alexander Klein

Talks with Iran over its nuclear program are “going around in circles,” Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Monday.

Addressing the IAEA’s Board of Governors, Amano maintained that, “Iran is not providing the necessary cooperation to enable us to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities. The Agency therefore cannot conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.”

IAEA officials held a 10th round negotiations with Iranian counterparts in Vienna in May, in an effort finally to gain access to nuclear sites, including Parchin, The last time IAEA inspectors were allowed access to the Parchin base was 2005.. In 2012 six world powers - the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China - called on Iran to allow United Nations inspectors to visit the Parchin military site, but were not successful.

Amano said that “despite the intensified dialogue between the Agency and Iran since January 2012, during which time ten rounds of talks have been held, no agreement has been reached on the structured approach document.”

“This is not the right way to address issues of such great importance to the international community, including Iran. We need to achieve concrete results without further delay to restore international confidence in the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities,” he added.