UN watchdog and Iran fail to reach nuclear deal

IAEA says once again that it failed to clinch a deal in latest talks with Iran on investigating suspected atom bomb research.

IAEA cameras in Iranian uranium enrichment facility 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
IAEA cameras in Iranian uranium enrichment facility 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
VIENNA - The UN nuclear watchdog said on Thursday it had again failed to clinch a deal in talks with Iran this week on investigating suspected atom bomb research by the Islamic state.
The lack of a breakthrough in Wednesday's meeting in Tehran, though expected by Western diplomats, represented a new setback for international efforts to resolve a decade-old dispute over Iran's disputed nuclear program.
It comes before six world powers and Iran are due to meet for negotiations in Kazakhstan on February 26 over the Islamic state's atomic activities, which the West fears are aimed at developing nuclear bombs. Iran denies this.
Click here for full Jpost coverage of the Iranian threat
Click here for full Jpost coverage of the Iranian threat
Herman Nackaerts, deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters after he and his team returned to Vienna the IAEA was committed to continuing talks but needed more time to reflect on the way forward.
The two sides "could not finalize the document," he said, adding no date had yet been set for a next meeting.