Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to avoid discriminatory behavior towards its member states, saying Iran should fully enjoy its rights as a signatory to the Safeguards Agreement, just like the others.
"Development of peaceful nuclear activities as well as non-proliferation of nuclear weapons are the agency's two main duties that should be carried out in a balanced way and without discrimination against the members," Rouhani said Thursday in a meeting with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano in Tehran.
"Iran, like the other signatories to the Safeguards Agreement, should be entitled to all of its rights and there should be no discrimination in this regard," the Iranian president reiterated.
"Iran is still ready to reach a fair framework under the safeguards and the existing regulations to settle the remaining issues in a definite period," President Rouhani stressed.
He also made a reference to the record of Iran's "long, transparent" cooperation with the IAEA, saying it is now proven to the agency that "bogus accusations about deviation in Iran's nuclear activities have been baseless."
The president noted that some remaining ambiguities in the course of cooperation between Iran and the IAEA could be fully settled in a short time if both sides have the necessary determination and "certain non-technical issues" are dropped.
Pointing to the diplomatic talks between Iran and six world powers over Tehran's nuclear energy program, Rouhani urged the UN nuclear watchdog to "play its proper role from the technical and legal standpoints regardless of the views of the powers at this juncture, when negotiations with the (Group) 5+1 are approaching their final stages."
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) are in talks to hammer out a comprehensive agreement on Tehran's nuclear energy program, with the parties pushing hard to finalize the text of the long-awaited deal in Vienna until July 7.
Amano, for his part, appreciated Iran's cooperation with the UN nuclear agency, saying the IAEA's previous inspections have all confirmed that Iran has always honored its commitments and there has been no deviation towards military purposes in its nuclear activities.