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January 12, 2008

UN Nuclear Chief Meets Iran's Top Leaders, Urges Nuclear Cooperation
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1AE4F6A:A6F02AD83191E160326217C8682045E0F47489ACC27D21EE& Mohamed ElBaradei
visiting Iran for first time in more than 18 months





IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei, 16 July 2007 (file photo)The head of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is meeting with top Iranian
leaders in Tehran, urging them to intensify cooperation with his
agency to resolve outstanding questions about Iran's nuclear program.

Mohamed ElBaradei met with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Saturday, and is due to hold talks for the first time with Iran's
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on the
country's policies. 

Friday, ElBaradei and the head of Iran's atomic energy organization,
Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, discussed how Iran and the IAEA can better work
together before the IAEA chief reports to the agency's board of
governors in March.

Aghazadeh described the talks as "very good" and said Iran will
continue to cooperate fully with the IAEA.

ElBaradei is visiting Iran for the first time in more than 18 months. 
A U.N. spokeswoman said he sees the visit as an opportunity for Tehran
to provide the IAEA with more information about the country's past and
current nuclear activities. The United States and its Western allies
accuse Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapon under the guise of a
civilian atomic program.  Iran says its nuclear work is strictly for
civilian purposes.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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