VIENNA, May 22: The International Atomic Energy Agency would soon sign an accord with Iran aimed at trying to resolve disputes over its nuclear drive, the UN watchdog’s chief Yukiya Amano said on Tuesday.

He made the announcement on his return to Vienna from a visit to Iran, and on the eve of talks between Tehran and world powers in Baghdad on the long-running crisis over the Islamic republic’s atomic activities.

“A decision was made by me and Mr Jalili to reach an agreement on the structured approach,” he said, referring to Iran’s negotiator Saeed Jalili.

“At this stage, I can say it will be signed quite soon but I cannot say how soon it will be,” he added, describing the agreement as an “important development”.

He said the “important thing is I talked with policymakers, decision makers... directly and we understood each others’ positions better. I think that is the reason why we could make this agreement”. Mr Amano noted that he had discussed with Iranian authorities access to the Parchin military site, where the IAEA believes activity relevant to nuclear weapons development took place.

“This issue will be addressed as a part of the implementation of the structured approach document,” he said.

Iran says its nuclear programme, which has expanded in recent years, is for peaceful purposes, to generate electricity and provide medical isotopes, but many in the international community allege the programme to be a front for a covert weapons drive.

The talks, set for Wednesday, are to be held between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.—AFP