“Despite the intensified dialogue between the Agency and Iran since January 2012, during which time 10 rounds of talks have been held, no agreement has been reached,” Director General Yukiya Amano told the Agency’s Board of Governors at a meeting in Vienna.

“To be frank, for some time now, we have been going around in circles. This is not the right way to address issues of such great importance to the international community, including Iran,” he stated.

Mr. Amano said Iran is not providing the necessary cooperation to enable the IAEA 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,” he said.

“Iran continues to advance its heavy water-related projects. The number of centrifuges installed by Iran also continues to increase, as does the amount of enriched uranium it holds,” he continued. “These activities are in clear contravention of resolutions adopted by the Board of Governors and the United Nations Security Council.”

Iran’s nuclear programme – which its officials have stated is for peaceful purposes, but some other countries contend is driven by military ambitions – has been a matter of international concern since the discovery in 2003 that the country had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The IAEA has been engaged with Tehran on a structured approach to resolving all outstanding issues. Mr. Amano reported that no agreement has been reached so far on the structured approach document.

“We need to achieve concrete results without further delay to restore international confidence in the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities,” he stated. “In order to achieve that objective, the Agency has made clear its view of the elements which the structured approach should contain.

“First and foremost, Iran has to address the Agency’s requirement to conduct effective verification. Unless Iran does so, it will not be possible for the Agency to resolve outstanding issues, including those relating to possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear programme.”

He called on Iran to engage with the Agency to achieve concrete results in resolving all outstanding issues “with a sense of urgency.”

Mr. Amano also told the 35-nation Board that he remains concerned about the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), particularly since its announcement of a third test of a nuclear weapon in February.

“Once again, I strongly urge the DPRK to fully implement all relevant resolutions of the Security Council, the IAEA General Conference and the Board of Governors,” said Mr. Amano.

“I reiterate my call for the DPRK to fully comply with the NPT and to cooperate promptly and fully with the Agency. The IAEA remains ready to contribute to the peaceful resolution of this issue by resuming its nuclear verification activities once political agreement is reached among the countries concerned.”

The Board of Governors, one of the Agency’s main policy-making bodies, meets five times a year at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna. It is meeting to discuss the IAEA’s work on nuclear verification, safety, security and the peaceful use of nuclear technologies.

“It is regrettable that Iran has yet to reach agreement with the IAEA on a plan to resolve all outstanding issues,” the spokesperson told a news briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.

“The Secretary-General emphasizes that there can only be a diplomatic and negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue which should be pursued through a reciprocal, step-by-step process,” the spokesperson added. “This must include measures by Iran aimed at building international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme.”

According to media reports, a leaked quarterly report from the IAEA notes that Iran has doubled the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges it has in an underground bunker.

The Iranian nuclear issue was a topic of discussion in the UN chief’s various meetings in Tehran, where he attended the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The Summit, under the chairmanship of the Government of Iran, began in the Iranian capital on Sunday and ends on Friday, and drew representatives from its 120 members, as well as from various associated observer countries.

“The Secretary-General used the opportunity of his participation in the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement to convey the clear concerns and expectations of the international community on this matter,” the spokesperson told the news briefing.

Iran’s nuclear activities have been of international concern since the discovery, in 2003, that Iran had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years, in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran has repeatedly stated that its nuclear programme is for the peaceful purpose of providing energy, but many countries contend it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

In a meeting on Thursday, with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Aliakbar Salehi, Mr. Ban had shared his concern about Iran’s nuclear programme and underscored the importance of transparency in this matter, as well as the need for Iran to fully comply with the IAEA.

Regarding Iran’s talks with the P5+1 grouping, which is made up of the five Security Council permanent members – China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States – along with Germany, Mr. Ban and Mr. Salehi agreed on the need for positive momentum that would advance the talks, according to the Secretary-General’s spokesperson.

“I conclude this visit strengthened in my conviction in dialogue and diplomacy,” Ban told reporters during a press conference at Mehrabad Airport in Teheran before his departure

“Through dialogue and diplomacy, I expect Iran to contribute meaningfully to our global agenda and to regional and international peace and security.”

He added that he has condemned threats by any Member State to destroy or delegitimize another. “And I have reminded leaders here – and indeed throughout the region – to lower the volume and stop the provocation that can lead this area down a slippery slope of conflict. It is time for more reason and responsibility,” Mr. Ban said.

“I leave here mindful of the challenges, but also satisfied that we have conveyed the messages that simply must be aired at this critical time.”

“It is regrettable that Iran has yet to reach agreement with the IAEA on a plan to resolve all outstanding issues,” the spokesperson told a news briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.

According to media reports, a leaked quarterly report from the IAEA notes that Iran has doubled the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges it has in an underground bunker.

Meanwhile, Iran has also yet to allow the IAEA to visit a military site at Parchin, where the agency suspects Iran carried out explosives testing that it is now working to cover up, which has “significantly hampered” the agency’s investigation efforts.

The Iranian nuclear issue was a topic of discussion in the UN chief’s various meetings in Tehran, where he attended the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The Summit, under the chairmanship of the Government of Iran, in the Iranian and drew representatives from its 120 members, as well as from various associated observer countries.

Iran’s nuclear activities have been of international concern since the discovery, in 2003, that Iran had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years, in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran has repeatedly stated that its nuclear programme is for the peaceful purpose of providing energy.

In a statement in the Tehran summit Iran’s Supremem leader said: “I stress that the Islamic Republic has never been after nuclear weapons and that it will never give up the right of its people to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.” But Israel, the United States and their allies in Europe  believe Iran is developing atomic weapons.

In a meeting on Thursday, with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Aliakbar Salehi, Mr. Ban had shared his concern about Iran’s nuclear programme and underscored the importance of transparency in this matter, as well as the need for Iran to fully comply with the IAEA.

He added that he has condemned threats by any Member State to destroy or delegitimize another. “And I have reminded leaders here – and indeed throughout the region – to lower the volume and stop the provocation that can lead this area down a slippery slope of conflict. It is time for more reason and responsibility,” Mr. Ban said.

Ban’s remarks come after Iranian remarks earlier this month threatening Israel’s existence. Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel a “cancerous tumour” with no place in a future Middle East, were “outrageous and hateful” while Iranian media had earlier reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had said Israel would one day be returned to the Palestinian nation and would cease to exist.

The Iranian remarks come as a series of Israeli media suggest that Israel could attack Iranian nuclear facilities ahead of U.S. presidential elections in November.

Senior IAEA officials met an Iranian delegation in Vienna, where the Agency is based, to seek agreement on a “structured approach document” to resolve outstanding issues relating to Tehran’s nuclear programme.

“The Agency team came to the meeting in a constructive spirit with the desire and intention of finalising the paper. We presented a revised draft which addressed Iran’s earlier stated concerns,” IAEA’s Deputy Director, General Herman Nackaerts, said in a statement issued after the meeting.

“However, there has been no progress and, indeed, Iran raised issues that we have already discussed and added new ones. This is disappointing,” he added, noting that a date for a follow-on meeting has yet to be fixed.

Iran’s nuclear programme – which its officials have stated is for peaceful purposes, but some other countries contend is driven by military ambitions – has been a matter of international concern since the discovery in 2003 that the country had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

On Monday, IAEA’s Director General, Yukiya Amano, once again highlighted serious concerns about a possible military dimension to Iran’s nuclear programme, as well as Tehran’s failure to fulfil its international obligations to ensure that its programme is only for peaceful purposes.

“Iran is not providing the necessary cooperation to enable the Agency to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran, and therefore to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities,” he told a meeting of the Agency’s Board of Governors in Vienna.

“Iran will build a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in Bushehr next year,” Fereydoon Abbasi Davani said, AFP reported.

The announcement comes in the wake of nuclear talks in Baghdad on May 23-24 between six world powers and Iran known as P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany).

 Those talks collapsed but have agreed to meet again in Moscow on June 18-19.

The existing Bushehr nuclear plant was started by German engineers in the 1970s before Iran’s Islamic Revolution and was completed by Russia, which supplies fuel for it and helps keep the facility running, according to Reuters.

Tehran insists that it has no reason to suspend its enrichment of uranium to 20 percent, one of the key demands of world powers on Wednesday and Thursday in Baghdad, as it stated that it produces only as much of the 20 percent fuel as it needs.

Meanwhile, the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog has failed to convince Iran of the need to inspect a military base suspected of housing nuclear weapons’ experiments, Iranian media quoted the head of country’s atomic agency as saying on Saturday.

“The reasons and document have still not been presented by the agency to convince us to give permission for this visit,” the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani said. Tehran denies accusations that it is developing atom bombs, and insists it’s for peaceful means.

“Definitely, the progress of talks will have a positive impact on negotiations between Iran and P5+1,” Amano said. His visit to Tehran came ahead of wider negotiations at a meeting in Baghdad between six world powers and Iran on Wednesday.

Amano’s one day visit which was the first since becoming the IAEA chief in 2009 focuses on getting Iran to agree to terms that will allow IAEA probes of suspect Iranian sites, including the Parchin military complex where the agency had reported suspicious activities in the past,  AP reported.

Iran has refuted such claims by Western nations that it is developing  nuclear weapons. It has repeadetly refused to provide the IAEA access to relevant sites, officials and documents for over four years.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved on Monday a package of new economic sanctions on Iran’s oil sector just days ahead of a meeting in Baghdad between major world powers and Tehran, Washington Post reports.

“Today the U.S. Senate put Iranian leaders on notice that they must halt all uranium enrichment activities or face another round of economic sanctions from the United States,” said Republican Senator Mark Kirk, in a statement.

New sanctions by the U.S. and EU against Iran have stirred up tensions and a risk of hostilities, including a military attack by Israel on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The report pointed to the recent forewarnings by US President Barack Obama and IMF chief Christine Lagarde that tensions over Iran could increase oil prices and lead to an “economic shock”.According to the report, after the EU’s January decision to ban the imports of the Iranian crude, figures in March showed that the eurozone has slid into greater recession with the private sector activity, signifying an unforseen sharp drop according to Markit research firm’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI).

Chinese manufacturing activity  also fell, according HSBC bank’s preliminary Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), adding to concerns about recession in the world’s second largest economy.

The IEA estimates that exports from Iran could plunge by about 800,000 barrels per day to one million bpd in the second half of the year after the tighter Western sanctions go into force.

Since the end of 2011, global crude prices have risen by 20 percent, and if Iran, as the world’s third oil exporter, cuts its exports following the imposition of sanctions, or if Tehran threats become real of closing the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s key maritime routes, the crude prices will reach the  peak aggravating the situation for the West’s struggling economies.